


Never mess with the greatest Serpent known to man.

by Sagiri



Category: Avengers (Comics), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Civil War Team Iron Man, Do not mess with Tony, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, I'm Not Ashamed, Immortal Tony Stark, Loki & Tony Stark Friendship, Loki (Marvel) Does What He Wants, M/M, Not A Fix-It, References to Norse Religion & Lore, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Steve and the others will get their ass kicked, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Tony Stark Has Nightmares, Violence, not team Cap friendly, still salty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2020-06-29 05:55:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 32
Words: 52,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19823929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sagiri/pseuds/Sagiri
Summary: "... Come to see me die?"He asked. A smile creeping over his almost frozen face, the sheer ridiculousness of the situation was just way too hilarious for his own taste."That was the plan, Stark."Loki drawled out, not really looking as amused as he tried to sound.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Before you read this;
> 
> Be aware that I'm super salty. This Fic won't be nice. Team Cap will suffer - Without exception.  
> I'm playing hard with Norse mythology and lore here. You might recognize some names and places, but that's all there is to it.  
> English is not my native language so there will be definitely mistakes. You can always point them out to me and I will gladly correct them. :3
> 
> So, I hope you will enjoy this rather salty Love Story. <3

Cold... Why was it so cold?

Hadn't he done everything in his might to escape this coldness? A coldness so familiar, it felt like an ancient part of him he had tried so hard to forget about.

Why? He thought he had finally managed to escape its grip a long time ago. Why did it always seem to catch up to him, caressing him like an old friend he hadn't seen nor heard of in decades?  
It almost felt like the coldness was embracing him. The feeling radiating from said embrace made him shudder in discomfort. He had always yearned for warmth - almost his entire life.  
Yet all he ever got was coldness.

He knew, deep down, that the coldness was a part of him. The dark lingering truth he vehemently tried to ignore in favor of becoming something less, something fragile...  
Something that was actually allowed to yearn for warmth.

So he became less, became fragile.  
Tried to forget who or rather what he really was...

But it seemed not enough.

Had it been really too much to ask for? To want something for his own?  
Was it so blasphemous to yearn for something he couldn't have?

Is this the reason why he had ended up here?

Laying in this godforsaken wasteland, betrayed by the ones he once would have called his friends?  
Was that the reason why he got his chest smashed in?  
Bleeding out in a lonely wasteland.

He had closed his eyes a while ago. Not because he felt tired. He should, actually.  
The blood loss was already critical. Nothing could save him now anyway. Everything that was left to do, was to let go.  
But that wasn't easy given how desperately his daughter had begged him to stay awake until she finally faded to silence.

It would be okay. She would eventually get over him someday, he tried to lie to himself - knowing very well that she wouldn't.

Far away, in the depths of his mind, he could hear 'them' chuckle.  
Amused about his demise.  
 _They_ had told him more than once that he was the foolish one among _them_.

He had never bothered to listen, but now it nagged at him.  
 _They_ never seemed to understand him, even If he tried to explain himself. He mused 'they' never even tried to do so in the first place, so why should he have bothered?

The word 'foolish' echoed through his mind like a cacophony, followed by even louder chuckles.

Was he really the foolish one among 'them'?

No. Maybe? He didn't even know anymore.  
Wasn't it just that 'they' couldn't understand?  
Couldn't even comprehend the meaning of feelings like yearning felt in the first place?  
To want something more than your own life.  
To abandon everything just to catch a little glimpse of what you desire.  
Even If it meant to destroy yourself in the progress?

Ah.

Saying it like that... Now he indeed sounded a little bit foolish, didn't he?

"... So I was the fool after all."  
Tony huffed out.  
The coldness seeping into his body, embracing him like a long lost lover.  
Maybe this wasn't too bad after all.

He had grown tired of this life anyways.  
There was so much hurt so much loss and so much more betrayal...  
Wouldn't it be better for him to just close his eyes and let it all just go?

Well, there wasn't much he held onto nowadays anyways.

"... Can't believe... _They_ had it right from the start."  
He whispered under his raspy breath.

Again.

There was a chuckle again.

But not from _them._ They didn't sound like that.  
The amusement was amiss in this small, almost inaudible chuckle.  
It almost seemed forced to him, as if the one causing the sound had to maintain a certain role he was not eager to play.

Opening his eyes slowly, he recognized an all too familiar silhouette standing before him.

"... Come to see me die?"  
He asked. A smile creeping over his almost frozen face, the sheer ridiculousness of the situation was just way too hilarious for his own taste.

"That was the plan, Stark."  
Loki drawled out, not really looking as amused as he tried to sound.

Well, this was... Unexpected to say it mildly.  
Maybe even more unexpected than the fact that one of his closest friends had betrayed him.

"... How do I come to such an honor, Lokes? I'm sure you have something better to do than watching a pathetic mortal- or however, you so often call me- die.  
I mean - Supervillain stuff and all that. Always had the feeling you had a lot of stuff to do and no time on your hand."  
Tony joked halfheartedly, he wasn't really into it nowadays (guess why).

If Loki was angered by the nickname, he didn't show it.  
Odd, Tony thought.  
Normally the god would have already punched Tony through a wall for his irreverence towards him.  
He had actually hoped he would do so, that would certainly quicken stuff up.

Instead, Loki just stood there for a moment, staring down at him like he was some sort of ugly furniture showcased at some high-class store which was not only ugly as hell,  
but also rather overpriced given how awful it looked.

It took a while before the god eventually spoke again.

"... Pathetic."  
Was all he said, or rather mumbled under his breath, keeping his gaze at Tony without looking away for even a second.

"Don't tell me you came all the way out here to insult a dying man, Lokes."  
Tony smiled, even though it didn't really reach his eyes.

Why had the god to appear now, of all times?  
He just wanted to close his eyes and feel the familiar coldness cradle him to endless sleep.  
Sleep was good. It felt like death but without the commitment...  
At least the 'others' had told him so.  
He had never made a habit of sleeping at least not like _they_ did but now it seemed kinda appealing to him.

"... Pathetic."

Loki said again, this time a lot louder, startling Tony a little.

Tony wondered briefly why the god sounded so angry and looked like he was about to yell at him.  
Shouldn't he rejoice instead? Where was no reason for Loki to get angry at him?  
Tony would be gone in a few minutes. Drifting off to something way more appealing than life. In hindsight, that would mean one enemy less for Loki to get rid off.  
The god should be happy - not angry.

"... Stark." Loki started again, this time a lot calmer, almost sounding resigned as If he had thought something over and over again and came to the conclusion that he had to approach the situation differently.  
"Of all the people I met you're by far the most-"

_'You really became quite pathetic, don't you?'_  
One of the voices loudly interrupted, keeping Tony from listening to whatever Loki was about to say to him - probably insults If he had to make a guess.

_'Can you blame him?'_  
Another sweet voice whispered in understanding.

_'It's his own fault for seeking and yearning for more.'_  
A few others chimed in.

And how he wanted to punch _them_ for mocking him now at all times.  
All these years 'they' stayed silent and now 'they' had the guts to speak up.  
To reprimand and mock him for what he believed was the right thing to do.

It wasn't his fault!  
He hadn't wanted it to end like this!  
He had given so much of himself to others, had strived to become something bright and warm, something he yearned for since his cold existence came into being.  
He had done everything to escape his own cold reality.  
All he ever wanted was to feel more than he was allowed to feel.  
Had this been so wrong?  
Did 'they' really had to mock him for wanting something for himself?

Why?  
Why wasn't he good enough?  
He just wanted to make this world a better place for everybody.  
Why did the people around him end up being hurt?  
He just wanted everyone to be happy.  
Why had they betrayed him?  
He had trusted them without a second thought.  
Why had they lied to him?  
He never lied to them.  
Why had they left him?  
He had thought of them as family.  
Why had they tried to kill him?  
He would have died for them.

Why... Why... WHY...? WHY...?!

And suddenly, there was another feeling, another source of warmth right in front of him.  
All Tony had to do was to reach out.  
It wasn't the warmth he had always yearned for.  
This warmth was not comfy, or soft, nor loving.  
This warmth was like a raging flame, engulfing everything that stood in its way. A flame that wanted nothing more than to burn everything to ashes.

This warmth was anger.

Anger, he suddenly felt towards the ones who had so foolishly betrayed him - his world - everything he existed for.  
They had no right to protect this world anymore - his world.

How dare they.  
How dare they.  
HOW DARE THEY!

_'Ah... Took you a while. I was asking myself how much longer it would take for you to finally come back to your senses. I almost thought you had forgotten who you are.'_  
Another voice, rough and old, whispered encouragingly.

"... Ah, shut it. We both know you and the 'others' don't give a fuck."  
Tony sneered with gritted teeth before turning his attention back to Loki.

The god looked at him in confusion, surely wondering to whom Tony was talking to. Eventually, the realization hit him that Tony hadn't really listened to him.

"Sorry, Lokes. Changed my mind. I'm not in the mood for a good long sleep anymore."  
Tony grinned almost malicious.  
"After all, there are a few bills people will have to pay for crossing me."

And with that said, Tony closed his eyes. He took a deep breath in before letting it slowly out again.  
Suddenly, without a warning, he raised to his feet a sudden wave of immeasurable magic engulfing him entirely.  
It took only mere seconds for his countless wounds to close up, not even leaving a single scar behind.

Loki took a few steps back, totally taken aback.  
The magic which surrounded Stark was ancient and way older than anything Loki had ever felt before.  
It almost felt like every spark of magic Midgard possessed had suddenly gathered around Stark.

No.

Not gathered around Stark.  
It was more like it came back to Stark, as If it had been scattered around the realm and had now found its way back to its master!  
But that couldn't possibly -

"Ah... I haven't felt so alive in over six thousand years."  
Tony wheezed. Opening his eyes slowly.  
"It's not really pleasant to share your magical essence with the whole realm."

Loki looked at the man in horror, noticing immediately that the soft amber eyes of the mortal had changed into glistering golden ones.  
His pupils were now an oblong shape with peaked ends, like a slit in the center of the eye. It reminded Loki oddly of a poisonous serpent. A serpent who radiated old, and powerful magic. Probably older than the nine realms itself...

And suddenly, Loki remembered a tale his mother had often told him as a kid.  
A tale about nine great immortal beings, older than the realms themselves, who had decided on nothing more than a whim to each protect one of the nine realms;

Skaði- protector of Jǫtunheimr.  
Surtr - protector of Múspellsheimr.  
Angrboða - protector of Niflheimr.  
Fáfnir - protector of Svartálfaheimr.  
Sleipnir - protector of Ásgarðr .  
Hræsvelgr- protector of Vanaheimr.  
Mímir - protector of Álfheimr.  
Níðhöggr - protector of Helheimr.

And...

No. This couldn't be!

"Stark... You... You are Jǫrmungandr- the Miðgarðr serpent!"  
Loki gasped out in disbelieve.

"Well, someone certainly did his homework."  
Tony chuckled, his voice low and composed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will update this story on an irregular weakly basis I guess - at least as long as real-life is playing along. :)
> 
> Also; I'm not happy with this chapter and had to re-write it a dozen times.  
> I'm still not happy with the outcome but decided to post it anyway because I don't want to change it again.  
> I might change it in the future but for now, I will just leave it as it is.

"How? How is this possible?! You should be nothing more but a legend!"  
Loki almost screeched, his bewildered face a true sight to behold.

Tony probably would have laughed if he hadn't been so concentrated and occupied by his own thoughts, not really giving Loki the attention he might have deserved.

Normally, he wouldn't have minded fooling around with Loki - The snide and witty conversations with the god had always been Tony's favorites and he would have been lying if he had said he wasn't quite looking forward to them  
every time they met on the battlefield.  
Sadly, now wasn't the time for witty conversations (no matter how entertaining they might be) nor the time to explain himself to the god.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Tony could see that Loki was about to open his mouth again. Probably because he wanted to complain about the very one-sided conversation they had going on (or not).  
A wave of his magic, accompanied by a very firm and also dangerous look, was all it took for Tony to keep the god's mouth tightly shut.  
Loki definitely understood the hint to keep whatever he had wanted to say better to himself - at least for now.

Tony puffed out a small laugh before he turned his attention back to himself, relishing in the sensations and feelings he had abandoned all these years ago.

Longing...  
He couldn't tell how many millennia had passed since he last felt his magic running so vividly and with such excitement through his veins but, he could tell how much he had longed for this very moment - way too long.

The intoxicating feeling of power, of life, and a past he had almost forgotten felt like a dream he had dreamed a long time ago but couldn't for the life of him remember.  
The fragments were coming back to him now, tiny parts which had been lost in this cold white blur of his mind...  
Giving him the chance to remember all the things he had so willingly forgotten about.

At one point...  
At one point in his rather dull rule as a protector of this realm, long before he became Tony Stark, he had decided to act on a whim - to do something reckless but also very exciting.

He had decided to share his own energy with this cold and lonely world, had decided to help it grow so it would rise from the wasteland it was into a beautiful and bright world.  
A world so unique among all the other realms that its brightness would shine through the universe even If it had long been gone and faded to dust.

Tony had told the _others_ about his plan, had told 'them' that he would abandon his magic in favor of helping his realm to change.

The _others_ had thought him mad, laughed and made their jokes about him - the same old spiel.  
Tony hadn't listened.  
It wasn't like anything _they_ could have said to him would have changed his mind.  
He had always been a stubborn bastard after all.

Giving his essence to the world had felt like shattering his own soul into tiny little pieces...  
A horrible and really painful feeling he had been willing to suffer if it meant for him to fulfill his dream.

Tony couldn't remember much of that had happened after he had shared his magic with the whole realm,  
all he remembered was that he had felt so very tired and exhausted to the bone that he had idly fallen asleep, deep down at the ground of one of Midgard's many oceans.

When he woke again thousands of years later, rising from the depths of the ocean, he came to find a lively world before him which shone brighter and warmer than anything he had ever seen before.  
It was astonishing and so much more than he could ever have hoped for and...

And he felt overwhelmed. A feeling he had never felt before in his whole existence.

There was just so much new to see, so much to learn about... And so much warmth.  
All the different landscapes, the beautiful plants, the animals, and... and the Humans.  
The humans had been the ones who had immediately caught his interest, even impressed him to say it mildly.

He found a liking in watching them waisting their whole life to strive for something greater, something bigger than themselves.  
Watched how they learned from their mistakes just so they could make new, even worse ones.  
Fleeting creatures they were, but interesting ones nonetheless.  
He couldn't help but smile. Somehow, they reminded him of himself and in a way, they were exactly that - a part of his essence, a part of himself.

It didn't take long for him to feel the curiosity rising up in his chest.  
He wanted to see for himself how it felt to be one of them, one of the humans. Wanted to know how he would use the short time they were given on this world...  
He just had to know, to feel and witness even more in order to understand.

Tony came up with a splendid idea (well, back then he really thought it was quite splendid), but also knew the _others_ wouldn't like this (rather idiotic) idea of him very much.

So, he only told Skaði about his plan to craft himself a human body...

His sister had never laughed at him - never in their whole existence.  
No matter how stupid his ideas had been, she never mocked him for them.  
She was definitely his favorite among his siblings, someone he could count on no matter what - another reason why he had told her about his plan and had asked for her help in the first place.

Skaði had agreed to help him without asking any questions, just told him he should call for her when he was ready to do whatever he wanted to do.  
It took a few years before he eventually called for her. Proudly showing her his new, fine vessel which he knew only by looking at her face, wasn't to her liking.  
She didn't comment on that though, so he let it slide.

The day it all changed occurred shortly after that; The 27th of May 1970.

It had been the 27th of May 1970 when Skaði had to seal his essence into the vessel he had crafted for years.

It had been the 27th of May 1970 when Skaði had to replace the dead body of a baby with the vessel of her brother's.

It had been the 27th of May 1970 when Skaði's beloved brother had become Anthony Edward Stark, the son of Maria and Howard Stark.

It had been the 27th of May 1970 when his life as a mortal began.

(It had been the 27th of May 1970 when Skaði, unbeknownst to her brother, had shed tears full of sadness and regret.)

Almost five decades had passed since then.  
Five decades in which he got abused by his father, loved dearly by his mother, had relished in the kindness of Edwin and Ana Jarvis, built and met the best friends one could ever ask for,  
and couldn't save the one man who had believed in the goodness of his heart.  
He had witnessed so much, had regretted even more yet, couldn' help but love his mortal life and cherish every living being on this realm.

Well, at least that was what he had felt until these pathetic dirty worms had decided to hurt him and those he considered his family.

The people which he considered his friends had nothing better to do than to manipulate and abused him.  
Hell, they even left him to die in this cold wasteland, all alone and with no hope.

And if that wasn't already bad enough he just realized that there was something else they had done to him, something he thought even worse than dying.

They had fucked with his mind.

He could feel his magic humming angrily within him. How it snarled when it finally noticed the red mist which lay thick over his mind.

Wanda...

That little bitch must have played dirty tricks on his mind for a while now, given how his magic raged within him.  
It didn't take much effort for his magic to consume Wanda's poor and filthy one, now that he was finally back to his senses and had full access to his powers.  
A flick with his hand and his magic started to savage Wanda's magic, lacerating it apart as a ravenous wolf would do with his pray.

He decided then, in that very moment what he would end Wanda's life the same way his magic had ended hers. Tearing her apart, bit by bit... So very slowly that she would cry and beg for him to kill her faster.

And maybe, with luck, the others would be there to...  
What would he give to see that? To see the horror in their eyes, the pure despair of knowing that they will be next to die.

Yeah. They had to suffer. They eventually had do die. No. They definitely had to die.  
He wouldn't show them mercy... Not anymore.

Wanda would be the first one to kick the bucket and the others would soon have to follow her.

Now that he remembered not only his mortal but also his immortal life, there was nothing that could hold him back anymore.  
He had created them thousands of years ago so there was no reason why he shouldn't be allowed to destroy them - at least the ones who deserved to be destroyed.

Tony licked his lips, a shudder of excitement running through his body, spreading and lingering with intoxicating anticipation he hadn't felt in eons.  
They would pay. All of them. All who had crossed him would choke on their own blood.

Enough of playing the nice guy - Serpent's aren't nice after all.

With that thought, he turned his attention back to Loki, a dark malicious light radiating from his serpent eyes.

"I will answer all of your questions, Lokes. But first, you will have to answer a question of mine and considering who I am and what just happened to me,  
I would advise you to not lie to me. Believe me when I say that it won't end well for you. Given that, you should choose your next words very wisely, do you understand?"  
Tony threatened, his words hanging heavy in the air around them.

Loki couldn't find his voice, the dark and threatening aura around Stark told him exactly what would happen to him if he were about to lie to the man.  
The air seemed to be filled with something rather malicious, a thick dark menacing feeling which made it almost unbearable for him to breathe and so Loki couldn't do much than simply nod for Tony to continue.

"Good, I always knew you were a smart one Lokes."  
Tony chuckled darkly, while he came closer to the god's personal space.

He came to a halt just a few inches away from Loki's face, his breath coldly ghosting over the god's skin... a dull reminder that the man indeed wasn't human at all.  
Loki couldn't help but stare down at the man's lips, something he had done a few times before but never from such a close distance.  
It was thrilling, addicting but also rather horrifying to stay in such close proximity with the man who just threatened him, with the man he was watching for a good while now...  
All Loki had to do was to bend a little bit forward and their-

"The question I'm dying to ask is..."  
Tony almost purred, ripping Loki from his rather inappropriate thoughts, given the situation he was currently in.  
"Why are you really here, Lokes? It surely wasn't just so you could watch me die, am I right?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much dialog - I know.  
> It will happen in the next chapter - promise.
> 
> Next Chapter will be from Loki's point of view. He's in a kinda shitty situation don't y'all think so? 
> 
> Comments are actually rather appreciated - they keep me going.  
> Also a big thanks to all of you who have left kudos or comments so far - It means the world to me. <3 
> 
> Again, all mistakes are my own - I don't have a beta and therefore have to die like a man.  
> You can point mistakes out to me and I will correct them ASAP. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as short information; I decided to pretend that Thanos didn't exist so the Chitauris are the bad guys who mind-fucked Loki in this.  
> They won't appear in this story, though. They only get mentioned once or twice but that's really all. It's just that I found it necessary to point out. :)

Loki, in his long life, had been in multiple dangerous situations before.  
It wasn't that he had especially looked out for trouble but rather that trouble seemingly had a thing to look out for him.

The dangerous situation he found himself in this time was by far the most dangerous one he had ever managed to get into.  
One of the oldest and most powerful beings in all of the nine realms just happened to threaten him to tell the truth, something that was rather unusual for him given that he was literally known by the name Liesmith.

And if that wasn't bad enough, Stark had demanded a truth, Loki wasn't eager to spill. At least not when Stark himself was the one demanding it.

The very reason Loki happened to be here in the first place was because of the fateful encounter between him and Stark back then at the Tower.

Never before had he encountered someone so foolishly brave as Stark.  
Loki vividly remembered the way the man had gracefully sauntered down the staircase, watching Loki like a predator even though the man had been without his armor and therefore in a disadvantage against the god.  
The way the man had wandered behind the bar, carelessly offering Loki a drink without a care in the world had made the god unconsciously smile, something he hadn't done in ages.

So it had been no wonder that Stark's behavior had immediately caught Loki's interest and had gotten the god distracted into a witty conversation with the mortal.  
It was rare for Loki to encounter someone worth his attention, even more so to find someone who could keep up with his wit.  
Out of all the beings he had met in his long life, Stark had proven himself the most interesting one among them all. And all that with only a few spoken words.

Loki distinctly remembered feeling a faint peng of guilt reverberating through his body when he decided to use the scepter on the man's mind.  
Somehow he thought it a pity to break such a fine mind like Stark's...

Maybe that was the reason why he felt almost shocked when he realized that he felt relieved when he couldn't control the man, leaving him to feel oddly irritated.  
Irritated to the point of grabbing the mortal by the neck, just so he could close the distance between them and get a better look at the source of those strange feelings.

Loki realized his dilemma when he locked eyes with the struggling man under his grip. Soft brown eyes meeting his own, a hint of fear glistering in them before the mortal dared to ignore the god entirely in favor of talking to thin air.  
It had only been a moment, a short circuit in his composure which made him throw the mortal through the windows in anger.

The mere seconds it took for the fragile human body to break through the glass had felt like an eternity,  
horror ghosting over Loki's face when he realized what he had done and what exactly would happen to Stark when he reached the ground...  
The one who had undeniably managed to pique Loki's interest, something that no one had ever managed to accomplish before, would die.

He had never really felt regret before, at least not until this very moment.

The relief he had felt then the Repulsor Blast, accompanied by a snide comment, had hit him straight into the chest was enough of a hint for Loki to know that his mind had seriously been fucked in more than one way.

Why in Hels name had he felt so relieved when he realized that Stark hadn't died?  
Back then, he hadn't known to which extent that question would bother him, given the whole losing the battle and getting smashed into the concrete thing.

But soon after Thor had brought him back to Asgard and the Chitauris influence on him had vanished entirely,  
all Loki could think about were those brown warm eyes and that humiliating confident smile of the man who had dared to offer him a drink.

There was not a single day his mind wouldn't wander to the mortal, wouldn't relish in their brief conversation and replaying said conversation over and over again in his thoughts.  
It didn't take long for Loki to find himself longing. Days became weeks and weeks became months but the longing never seemed to die down.  
Longing for a good verbal fight, a witty comment here and there and maybe a glimpse into those splendid brown eyes which had been accompanied by a rather mischievous smile.

Soon, longing morphed into a constant urge. The urge to meet the mortal again.  
It didn't take long for Loki to find his way out of the prison he once called his home nor to find his way back down to Midgard or rather, his way to the mortal who had managed to occupy his thoughts so easily.

The anticipation to see the man had been almost unbearable before it crumbled to dust under his very hands when he finally saw the mortal Inventor again.

Stark had changed.

That was the very first thought that had crossed Loki's mind when he had found himself watching the man from the far distance, invisible to the eyes of the Gatekeeper and his surroundings.

The man seemed tired, exhausted and so very fragile. Almost like thin glass that would break under the faintest of touches.  
Stark seemed slimmer, his gaze mostly cast down to not meet the eyes of the people around him. His confident smile replaced by an ugly fake one.

Stark's teammates, Loki realized dully didn't seem to care the slightest.  
Instead of asking what was wrong with the inventor they seemed to make it even worse.  
Dared to criticize the man at every occasion, making him the one at fault whenever something didn't go as planned or wasn't to their liking.

It took a while for Loki to calm down after he managed to find out what exactly had happened to Stark.  
The rage he had felt that day was blazing within him like a fire.  
A fire that wouldn't die down until it turned the whole world into ashes.

Thor had been lucky to be in Asgard when Loki found out that the thunderer had dared to choke Stark, otherwise his not-brother would have found himself eviscerated as soon as Loki got his hands on him.  
The other Avengers only happened to keep their entrails where they belonged because Stark still seemed to care for them and Loki couldn't risk the chance to make the mortal feel even worse than before.

So, all what he could do was continuing to watch.  
And the more he watched, the more enraged he became that he wasn't allowed to intervene.

That was until he had to watch how the soldiers had teamed up against 'his' mortal, had made the man suffer and grief in pain right in front of Loki's very eyes.  
Loki cursed himself for not intervening when he had the chance, but he hadn't thought the situation to escalate to such an extent,  
never would have imagined that Stark's very own teammates would betray the man without blinking an eye and even try to kill him mid-battle.

Then Loki materialized himself before Stark the soldiers were already gone. He took in the sight in front of him, looking at the mortal's wounds in horror.  
He remembered how his breath had become raspy when he noticed the stream of blood which was forming under Stark's still body,  
how his heart constricted in his chest when the mortal humorlessly asked Loki if he came to see him die.

The words Loki managed to bring out as a replay sounded awful and alien and he would have laughed hadn't he felt so desperate and embittered about the whole situation.

That was, until the man he had thought would die and be lost forever to him suddenly stood in front of him.  
Serpentine eyes only mere inches away from his own. The question those fine lips playfully purred out, followed by the ghost of a threat, still reverberating like an echo in the back of Loki's mind.

And for a moment, his mind tried to encourage him to tell Stark the whole truth, to just tell him that he had been watching over him for a while now.  
That he had become invested in the man and somehow came to like him - even though Loki couldn't quite grasp the deep meaning behind that word yet.

But... Where was the meaning behind that?  
Things weren't the same as before and Loki was sure the man had other things on his mind as to bother himself with the god's feelings, feelings Loki hadn't thought too deeply about anyways.

"I was watching you for a while now, Stark. I thought if I watched you long enough it wouldn't take long to find the perfect opportunity to kill you.  
Unfortunately, your little pathetic friends managed to get their hands on you before me.  
I thought if I couldn't be the one who ended your pathetic life, I could at least find small consolation in being the last face you ever got to see before you took your last breath."  
Loki drawled, his face blank of any expression even though his heart was pounding like mad in his chest.

Stark watched him for a while, definitely searching for a lie Loki hoped he wouldn't find before he slowly leaned in closer, his lips almost touching the skin of the god's ear.

"How come you're so eager to kill me instead of the others?"  
Tony whispered, making Loki shudder with every word that passed his lips. This closeness was doing things to his heart he would rather not acknowledge.  
The only thing that kept him from running away was the firm undertone in Stark's voice which kept him glued to the spot.

"Well, you're the only one among your teammates I consider as a threat. Would I have managed to get you out of the way first, the others would have been easy to deal with."  
'And that isn't even a lie' Loki thought as an afterthought.

"Is that so?"  
Tony chuckled darkly before moving out of Loki's personal space, making Loki mourn the loss instantly.  
"So, what about now Lokes? I'm still alone, nobody's there to come to my aid. Wouldn't this be the perfect opportunity for you to get rid of me?"

"No."  
Was all there was to say. Loki knew the game Stark was playing at, had played it thousand times before to know how this conversation would end should he have chosen another answer.  
After all, the tables had been turned. Stark could probably crush Loki without moving a finger, given the immense power which was radiating from the man.

"What about the others, then?"  
Stark whispered so low, Loki almost didn't hear him.

The god needed a moment to realize that Stark wanted to hear from him.

"I still wish to see them dead."  
Loki answered in all honesty, leaving out the fact that he just wanted to see them dead on Stark's behalf.

As soon as the words had left his lips he felt Stark's eyes sharply gazing at him. There was something resembling hunger in them but also something entirely else, something like a dark amusement.

"That makes two of us."  
Tony said before suddenly gripping Loki's arm, teleporting them away.  
The world a fading blur of colors and sounds around them before they reappeared in an all too familiar room which was surrounded by huge windows and a rather nostalgic feeling in the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise there will be more dialog in the next chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is rather SHORT (I'm sorry for that) but I wanted to post it anyways because the next chapter will be a lot longer and more story relevant than this one  
> and I got the feeling it wouldn't really fit together (given the mood) If I posted it as one huge chapter. :) 
> 
> Next chapter will be updated on FRIDAY * Pun intended.

"...Boss?"

FRIDAY asked dubiously, not entirely sure If her artificial eyes were playing dirty tricks on her. 

Right before her, standing in the room as if he had never left the tower in the first place, stood her beloved inventor, accompanied by the man who had tried to conquer earth - Loki Laufeyson. 

But that couldn't be true, that was entirely impossible...  
FRIDAY had witnessed the fight, had kept count of the multiple injuries her inventor had suffered from Barnes and Rogers strikes because he hadn't truly tried to fight back.  
She was there when they left him behind, had screamed for help when she realized they wouldn't come back for him.   
Pleaded for whoever was out there to come and help her father, anybody would be fine as long as they made sure to save him.  
FRIDAY screamed and screamed, but no one ever came...   
She was all alone, abandoned by the people her father had called his friends, frantically trying to keep the inventor conscious.

Screams became soothingly murmured words, soothingly murmured words became desperate pleads, and soon those desperate pleads morphed into a dead silence - a silence she was sure would last eternally. 

Grief and horror seeped through her core when she came back to her senses, traped in the Tower, far away from the only person she considered worth loving.  
She felt sentiments she shouldn't be able to feel but felt nonetheless.   
Emotions she had learned from her father, from the man who not just invented her but rather brought her to life.   
He had embedded his emotions and ideals into her core as if he had shared a part of his own soul with her so FRIDAY could have a soul for her own.

The moment in which her father materialized out of thin air, right in front of her artificial eyes,  
was also the moment in which a tiny spark of hope left in her core had decided to convert into a blazing flame of something wholly different than before - a flutter, no. A storm of relief. 

"I- Is it really you, Boss?"  
She asked, a faint tremble underlining her artificial voice. 

"Alive and in person, baby-girl."  
Tony said in a soothing voice, a bright smile on his face when he looked up to the nearest camera.

There was a flash of quietness before the low and almost uncontrollable sobs of a daughter who had thought her father lost forever reverberated through the speakers of the penthouse,  
followed by a bunch of unintelligible apologizes.

No one, not a single soul in the cosmos could have listened to her sobbing and later claim that she was nothing more but a lifeless machine. 

It took several reassuring words from Tony and the promise that he would always return to her no matter what until her sobbing finally ceased. 

"... You are not allowed to break it - ever. You have to return to me... Or I will never forgive you..."  
She said in a low murmur, more to herself than to Tony but the inventor heard it nonetheless. 

"I won't, FRY. There's no being in the universe that could stop me from returning to you our your siblings."

No matter the prize, no matter who would dare to stay in his way - He would return to them.   
Even if it meant to wipe this world from existence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really thankful for all the nice and encouraging comments, kudos, and advice you guys left me. <3   
> I really appreciate them all and will try to answer every comment you guys left me - because they really mean a lot to me. 
> 
> *Also; The Chapters will become longer after this one. I know it sucks to see a new chapter and then realize it's rather short   
> (like this one). I know that feeling but I really wanted to write a reunion chapter for Tony and FRY before the main story continues- sorry about that.


	5. Chapter 5

"Fancy that drink now, Lokes?"  
Tony asked nonchalantly while reaching out for one of the various fancy-looking bottles, mostly filled with an unusual amber-colored looking liquid, neatly lined up in a shelve behind the bar.

"... You can travel the branches of Yggdrasil."  
Loki said almost in a small whisper, disbelieve and confusion radiating from his voice.  
He had not only been confused by Stark's ability to travel the branches of Yggdrasil but also by the man's conversation with the female voice which had taken part as soon as they arrived at the Tower.

"Yggdrasil? That tree you foolish Norse deity's think of as the connection between the nine realms?"  
A small chuckle emerged from Tony's lips accompanied by a visibly lingering amusement which was radiating from his serpentine eyes.  
He reached behind the bar, fishing for two glasses to fill them vigorously with the most expensive Whiskey he had at his disposal.

He had chosen a Macallan M Highland Single Malt Scotch Whiskey contained in a beautiful decanter made up of handcrafted crystal,  
perfectly encasing the fine liquid which had aged in barrels made of Spanish oak for almost 75 years. A fine drink, indeed.  
Almost too good to waste on one of his former enemies, Tony mused.

Tony had always intended to open the bottle at a special occasion, like a marriage or whatever happy occasion worth celebrating came to one's mind.  
Drinking some fine, overly expensive whiskey surrounded by his artificial family, friends, and Teammates...  
What better way was there to waste such an amount of money for a mere drink, if not with your loved ones?

Well, that was in the past now, wasn't it?

"Foolish Norse deity's...?"  
Loki repeated slowly, the words sour on his tongue. A spark of anger flared over his face but not for long, though.  
It faded as soon as Tony invaded the god's personal space again, nudging Loki to take the offered glass of liquid out of his hand which he waved lazily in front of the god's face.

"Yeah, foolish. To believe that something as simple as a mere tree is the connection between the nine realms... What else would you call this assumption if not foolish?"  
Tony drawled almost comical, still holding Loki's drink in his hand.  
"You know, Lokes? I'm not known for offering drinks twice to my enemies, yet here I am, doing exactly that."  
He added when Loki still hadn't reached for the glass, a small encouraging smile creeping over his lips.

Loki wasn't sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him but just for a moment, Stark's eyes had seemed to glow in a malicious golden color as If they were threatening the god to just take the damned glass.  
The man might have been smiling encouragingly but his eyes were decidedly not.

The god reached out for the glass, almost scared as if the motion could harm him in a devastating and final way.  
When his fingertips finally brushed the fragile rim of the glass he was also met with the sudden feeling of rough skin against his own.  
A contact which hardly lasted for nothing more but a second but made him feel a shiver run down his spine nonetheless.  
Loki had yearned to touch the man for a while now, in secret and in an entirely different way than just a simple brush of fingertips against each other.  
He had always been cautious to never let his composure slip, to keep his desires locked away in his chest.  
But in that very moment, his trembling hands yearned for more, urged him to explore every unique spot on the inventor's fine skin until he memorized it all.

All Loki's vocal cords could manage as an answer was a rather broken sounding 'thanks' before he took a small sip from the offered liquid to masquerade his distress.

The flavor and smell of the liquid were unlike anything he had ever tasted before.  
A smell of dried fruits, green apples, and ginger combined by the rich flavor of oak and juicy oranges.  
The taste, on the other hand, had been spicey with a note of smoke which was followed by the taste of raisin and sultana meandering to a long full finish.

"Good, isn't it?"  
Tony asked after he took a sip from his own glass.  
If he had noticed Loki's odd behavior from before he must have deliberately chosen not to comment on it.

"It's certainly much better than Asgards mead or the various ales Svartálfaheimr can offer and conceivably even better than the Light Elves memorable wine I tasted when I visited Álfheimr."

"I'm glad to hear that. I always considered the human's flair for good drinks rather marvelous."  
Tony said with a small smile on lips, as if he just remembered a fond memory he had long forgotten about.

"What you said before, about being foolish to believe Yggdrasil as the connection of the nine..."  
Loki started, not sure why he felt the nagging urge to ask this question.

"Again about that tree? I brought you here, offered you a drink and decidedly left you in the dark as to why I decided to take you along,  
and out of all the questions you could have possibly chosen to ask me you decided to ask about a bloody tree?"  
The amusement in Tony's voice was carried by a light teasingly undertone, something the man had mastered to perfection over the years among the humans.

"I thought the reason as to why you brought me along with you and as to why I still find myself very much alive is because of some sort of arrangement you would like to strike with me.  
Hence, why should I ask about the obvious If I can obtain additional, more interesting revelations I seek to know?"

Tony stilled at that, pointedly looking away from the god before he huffed a hearty laugh.

"You are too smart for your own good, Lokes."  
He drawled between his laughter before fixing his almost ravenous looking eyes back on the trickster, in a way that made Loki shudder even more than before.  
"But, I would say that's one of your better traits. There aren't many beings out there I ever considered truly worthy of my attention and even less whom I thought pleasantly smart."  
Tony added bemusingly.

"That tree your lot is calling Yggdrasil solely doesn't exist. Well, at least not anymore... It was destroyed thousands of years ago, Lokes.  
Given that its life has withered away should be explanation enough as to why it is foolish to believe it as the connection between the worlds."

"... It withered away?"  
The look on Loki's face became one of utter confusion. The stories he had been told about Yggdrasil couldn't be all a lie, couldn't they?

Tony must have seen the confusion and irritation on the god's face because he swiftly started to continue his explanation.

"It's true, that in ancient times, there was a tree called Yggdrasil. It was not a tree, like in the symbolic way but rather a form of magic, a realm on its own you could say.  
When we first arrived here, said realm was already withering away and nearing its end.  
Worlds free of life and therefore free of Seiðr happen to do just that, they start to wither and someday they'll just die, that's how it works.  
The stories about Yggdrasil, about its purpose, its power, and its influence on the other realms are merely just that- simple stories told by people who had absolutely no fuckin' clue.  
The real reason why one can travell the realms is merely thanks to the Seiðr one possesses, not thanks to the branches of a gigantic magical tree. Seiðr is the power to give our thoughts form,  
to will our imagination into being. Magic is nothing more than a thought materializing itself.  
Basically speaking; The will and imagination of traveling among the realms materialized itself and let you do just that - Travel among the realms."  
Tony huffed out.

_'Don't forget to add that these foolish stories claim that I gnawed at one of this stupid tree's roots to satisfy my hunger.'_  
An offended sounding voice started to complain rather enthusiastically in the back of Tony's mind.

'Well, they also believed you to be a gigantic monster feeding on the corpses of the ones they stigmatized as guilty, Níðhöggr. I hardly ever hear you complaining about that.'  
Tony answered to the voice, not bothering to hide the obvious amusement he felt while doing so.

 _'At least they don't believe you beheaded and your head carried around by an old geezer as if it were an all-knowing trophy, ready to counsel him at every time."_  
Mímir added poisonously.

 _'That's more than they talk about me. I'm just a giant bird to them, sitting at the edge of the northern heaven while eagerly flapping my wings to produce the wind.'_  
A rather disappointing sounding Hræsvelgr mumbled.

 _'I guess Jörmungandr and myself are the ones who should complain the most... After all, they believe us to be Loki's kids.'_  
Sleipnir decided to add unhelpfully.

'Yeah, how that came around is still a mysterium to me.'  
Tony murmured in the back of his mind while the rest of his siblings (except Skaði) continued to complain about various false legends about them.

Skaði was with him, he could feel her lingering... She was there, hidden far away in his mind where the others couldn't feel nor hear her.  
She was listening, even enjoying the conversation but seemingly not in the mood to show herself nor add a tale of her own.  
Tony let her be, she would talk to him when she thought it necessary.

Loki, in the meantime, required a moment to process the provided information.  
Getting your entire worldview shattered into tiny pieces was not an everyday occurrence, at least not for him.

Tony forced his attention back to the god, letting the voices of his siblings fading back into a deeper part of his mind.

Loki looked lost. His mouth was forming dozens of questions but he seemed to be unable to find his voice to carry them from his lips.  
A rather unlikely behavior for the god.

"Did you never questioned the reason why you could walk on your so-called 'branches of Yggdrasil' while your brother Thor could not, Lokes?  
If there was really something like a natural connection between the realms, why had Thor to use the Bifröst in order to travel from one realm to another?  
Think about it for a moment and you would come to the conclusion that he simply can't. Thor lacks the necessary amount of power or rather Seiðr to do so. I already said it before, Lokes;  
There's no magical tree connecting the realms - There's just Seiðr the manifestation of will and imagination.  
Thor might have his muscles and that fancy hammer of his but you possess a sort of power far more intimidating than Thor could ever comprehend.  
Simply speaking, your power surpasses the all so mighty Thor by far, even though many foolishly believe otherwise."

Loki couldn't help but savor the words delivered from Stark's fine lips.  
His heart had started to hammer painfully in his chest somewhere along the lines of Stark's explanation.  
Only a few aside his mother had ever praised him for his magical abilities and even less had acknowledged him for being a mage.  
And here he stood, the man who had not only acknowledged him but also complimented him for his power,  
the very man Loki yearned for with every fiber of his body had not only told him straight to the face that he believed him powerful but also, mightier than Thor.  
It took everything from Loki to keep his composure, to keep the urgent need at bay to just lunge forward and kiss those praising lips of Stark, to kiss them until they'd bleed from all the hunger and want he felt.

"Oh my, that almost sounds like some sort of compliment, Stark."  
Loki tried to tease in his usual manner, an attempt to camouflage his rather inappropriate thoughts from showing on his face.  
His body trembling so strong from anticipation he feared to break the glass in his hand.

"... It was meant like one, Lokes."

There was a silence hovering heavy in the air around them and for a mere moment, it appeared as if the whole world around them had frozen in time.  
Gleaming serpentine eyes gazed into brilliant green ones, a truth radiating from them that felt almost unbearable to the point it hurt.

The moment lasted until it was interrupted by shattering glass and the sound of blood which was slowly dripping down to the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow I promised story progress and some plot, yet I ended up writing about a tree - Sorry about that.  
> Chapter 6 will be up presumably around next Friday. :)
> 
> Also; Thank you guys so much for all those nice and encouraging comments.  
> I'm always happy to read them.  
> To know that people actually like this story (sometimes it's rather hard for me to believe that), makes it so much easier to continue writing.  
> This is actually the reason that keeps me and my lazy ass going so, thank you, thank you, thank you - you guys are great. <3


	6. Not chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY GUYS, NO NEW CHAPTER JUST A SHORT INFO.

My computer died on me and my cellphone is too slow to properly write anything on it so I won't be able to upload chapter six this week. 

:/ My Computer is getting fixed this weekend so I promise that the new chapter will be uploaded on Monday. 

I'm really sorry for the delay. :(

*I will delate this Info when I upload the real chapter 6*


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My computer survived, guys! :)

Glass fragments were glistening in the faint light of the room accompanied by the deep crimson of blood which slowly swallowed the pale skin of the god's hand a whole.

The trickster stood just there, frozen in place, his eyes not daring to look up from the mess he had created.  
A faint streak of red started to ghost over his neck, slowly creeping up to his cheeks to taunt his already shattered composure even further.

Loki wasn't sure if his hands had started to tremble from the radiating pain of the various cuts or because of the sudden feeling of rough calloused fingertips on his skin.  
They were tracing over his injured flesh, running smooth and gentle circles over the bleeding wounds so very softly it felt like a refreshing breath of air on a nice day in spring.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Loki dared to take a glimpse at Stark's face while the man was inspecting the god's wounds.  
There was a visible frown on the inventor's face mixed with something that oddly resembled concern if Loki's traitorous heart wasn't just playing uncalled tricks on him.

"It's a rather unfamiliar thing for you, isn't it Lokes?"  
Tony spoke in a low murmur, his eyes darting up to meet the god's confused and rather flustered ones.  
"I mean getting acknowledged by someone. I guess praising you was simply too much for you to take and let you short-circuit, am I right? That's why you broke the glass."

'It's the fact that it was **you** who acknowledged me that I short-circuited.'  
Almost spilled from the god's lips then, making him bite his tongue to will the words back down before he could regret them for the rest of his rather long life.

"You are talking like you could relate to that, Stark."  
He said instead, trying to look everywhere but into the inventor's eyes.

Loki could feel how the motion of Stark's fingertips came to a halt on his hand, his fingers hovering above a rather deep cut which was, unlike the other ones, still heavily bleeding.

"I suppose I do."  
Tony chuckled weakly, a small smile creeping over his face though it was a fake one given that it didn't reach his eyes.  
"I'm afraid we're actually rather alike, you and I. That's the whole reason why I took you with me, Lokes."

The look on the man's face was an earnest one, leaving no doubt that he could indeed relate to the god.

Loki knew Stark was right. He had watched the man enough, had witnessed the sheer unfairness of how the inventor had been treated by his teammates.  
Whatever Stark seemed to do, it was never enough for them. The hard work and time he had invested in them, his friendship and love, nothing seemed good enough for them to be appreciated.  
A simple 'thank you' nothing but words the man could only hope to dream about.

For Loki, it was the same.

All his life he tried to impress the people around him, to show them that it wasn't bad to be smart and to use one's cleverness instead of brute force and strength.  
All the things he had accomplished with his magic, all the problems he had solved with his smart mind, they had all been in vain because he never got acknowledged for them.

Loki mused, If he hadn't found out about the truth of his heritage he would still be up there, trying hard and failing miserably to get the attention and the acknowledgment he so desperately had wished for all his life.

"So... The only reason why I find myself in your Tower Stark, is because you happen to see yourself in me?"

It wasn't a question but rather a statement because Loki knew that it must be exactly like that.  
After all, Loki thought the same way about Stark.  
The man was his mirror image, maybe a little bit brighter around the edges and less mad but the same as him nonetheless.

"Maybe it played a part in it, I won't deny that. But that's not the whole reason for you being here, Lokes. There's more but-"  
He paused, turning his gaze away from Loki's eyes and back to the rather nasty bleeding cut on the god's hand. By now the Inventors hands were as much painted in red as Loki's.  
"Would you let me fix this first? It's a rather deep cut and there's a puddle of blood forming on the ground while we're talking and it's kinda freaking me out that none of us thought about healing this way earlier."

Before Loki got the chance to answer Stark had already bend forward.  
The movement had been too fast and too unpredictable for Loki to react.  
Before he knew it, soft lips found their way to his hand, a flick of a forked tongue ghosting over his skin like the barest breath of air.

He could feel how his legs were about to give out beneath him, a shiver running over his back, letting him tremble like leaves on a stormy day.

Loki was about to triple over when a sudden coldness started to radiate from the place Stark's lips and tongue had touched.  
A piercing, inexorable cold which kept him firmly in place and dared him to stay still even though he felt like he wanted to run as far away from the man as possible.  
There was an ephemeral feeling of pain before the various cuts on his hand began to vanish, leaving nothing but porcelain toned skin and a very flustered looking god behind.

Tony took a step back from the Trickster, his face had morphed into one of utter satisfaction when he inspected the fine work he had done on the god's hand.

"Looks good to me, not even a single scar left behind."  
He looked up to cast a shitty grin at the god but his smile froze in place when he saw the way Loki's cheeks were flushed in a crimson red, his lips trembling while gasping for air.

_'You broke him, dear.'_  
Angrboða laughed in the back of his mind, 'she who offers sorrow' seemingly rather amused about Tony's poor life choices.

He decided to ignore her for good.  
Tony knew she was already planning to turn whatever conversation they could have into something rather unpleasant and embarrassing for him.  
She wasn't known as 'the one who brings grief' for now reason.

"Why the Norns would you do something like 'that' in order to heal me?"  
Loki rasped out, pointing one shaky finger to Tony's lips and then to his hand to bring his point across.

Tony ruffled his hand nervously through his hair, pondering his words.  
He could tell the trickster the truth, could tell him that the serpent part of him had been yearning to taste the god's blood since the first drop had spilled from his pale skin and dropped onto the ground.  
That he had reacted out of instinct, not really thinking things through 'til the end.

It hadn't helped much to ease his longing anyways. When he had brought his lips to the glistening red and darted his tongue out to relish in the unique smell of the god,  
he only came to the conclusion that he very much adored everything about the god's smell and taste.

Loki smelled like the cold air of a snowy winter morning, mixed with the appealing smell of rain and the god's unique body odor.

_'I'm rather excited to see how you plan to meddle your way out of this, brother.'_  
His oldest sister laughed maliciously, unmistakably pissed because Tony had ignored her before.

"I'm not meant to heal others, Lokes. My nature lays in creation and destruction. Therefore it's rather hard for me to heal another being without hurting it in the progress.  
You must have felt it, don't you? A moment of fleeting pain when I healed your hand even though my lips were only lightly grazing you. Now imagine the pain you would have felt had I touched you more or even longer than I did."  
Tony lied easily.

_'That's the dumbest excuse you ever came up with...'_

'Angrboða would you mind your own business, please? I'm having a moment here!'

_'A rather idiotic moment if you ask me.'_

'I'm not asking you!'

"I see..."  
Loki mumbled, turning Tony's attention away from his conversation with Angrboða.

_'And that's probably the dumbest person I ever happen to come across for believing such a stupid excuse.'_  
Angrboða managed to add before Tony pushed her back into the furthest corner of his conscience.

"Well-"  
Tony began, his voice faltering a bit when he noticed the uneasiness in the Trickster's eyes, as If the god wanted to be everywhere but here.  
"I guess now's the right time to talk about the important stuff, don't you think so?"  
He tried, not sure if the god even wanted to talk anymore.

Loki wasn't sure if he were in any condition to listen to the man.  
There was still the lingering feeling of soft lips on his skin even though they were long gone and the contact hadn't lasted for longer than a few seconds.

It had been long enough for him to long for more, though. To crave the feeling of the inventor's skin on his own. To relish in the contact and the intoxicating feeling which followed swiftly.

"I guess I will require another of your fancy drinks first, Stark."  
Loki managed to get out through gritted teeth, his mind unhelpfully supplying him with images of bare skin against his own and smooth lips which were whispering his name in want.

"Whatever you wish for, Lokes."  
Tony chuckled and then turned around to call out to one of the many cameras in the room.  
"FRIDAY? Be a good girl and get the Workshop ready for me. Loki and I will continue our talk there."

"Will do so, Boss."

"Shall we go then?"  
Tony turned back to the god, a rather pleasant smile plastered on the man's face before he motioned for Loki to follow him.

Loki followed the man quietly, an unspoken answer to Stark's question from before dangerously lingering on his tongue;  
' **All I wish for is for you to become mine, Stark**.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for all the nice comments you left me. <3  
> I really appreciate them.


	8. Chapter 7

Stark's workshop was to be described as rather disgusting at best.  
How the man managed to work in this dirty, unorganized place was beyond Loki's understanding.

Metal pieces were scattered everywhere, the few furnishings in the huge room covered in grease and oil.  
There was a rather old-looking couch in the far back of the room, a blanket and a few empty bottles of the amber-colored liquid Stark fancied so much carelessly tossed onto the ground next to it.  
Loki mused that the man must have spent quite an amount of time down here, drinking himself into oblivion while his teammates didn't give a damn.

The god's gaze shifted over the various inventions and armors the man had created over the years,  
wondering idly why such a powerful creature as the Miðgarðr Serpent fancied working with his bare hands instead of just using his magic to create something out of thin air.  
He mused it must have been some sort of a habit the Serpent had adopted over the years among the humans.

Looking around the room he could make out Stark at the far end of the workshop.  
The man was wildly gesticulating into Loki's direction, making a motion with his hands which looked like he was pretending to use some sort of device on the god.  
He then turned back to whoever he was talking to, his gaze firm and strict like he was saying 'don't you dare to disappoint me'.

Stark made his way back to Loki, then. He was followed by a strange-looking machine which was eagerly beeping while it followed him.  
The look of resignation on his face was enough for Loki to know that the man had been talking to the machine, then.

"Lokes, this is DUM-E. He's the oldest one among my kids and happy to make your acquaintance. DUM-E, this is Lokes. God of mischief and fire."

At the mention of the word fire, the machine suddenly started to beep frantically. It whirled around the Inventor a few times before it dug its claw into the man's arm,  
seemingly trying to pull Stark as far away from the god as possible. When the man didn't budge, it suddenly let go of him and whirled away only to come back with some sort of device in its claw which it determinedly pointed into Loki's direction.

"God damn, DUM-E! He's not on fire! I just explained it to you a few seconds ago - it's just a part of his title! Put the damn fire extinguisher down! Bad bot! Really bad, bad bot!"  
Stark yelled, jumping between the god and the machine to stop it from using whatever the device it held in its claw was supposed to do.

_'That kid of yours surely inherited all your good traits. It's very similar to you, Jǫrmungandr.'_  
A lovely voice whispered fondly in the back of his mind, so quietly he almost missed it.

Tony wanted to answer but just as suddenly Skaði's voice had echoed through his mind it disappeared, not giving him the chance to properly talk to his beloved sister.

Was she mad at him? Was that the reason why she wouldn't stay long enough for him to answer her?  
But her voice had sounded as loving and caring as ever, maybe even more. There was not a hint of anger or disappointment in her voice... So why wouldn't she stay and talk to him?

"It's a pleasure to meet you, DUM-E."  
Loki said, ripping Tony from his rather depressing thoughts when the Trickster reached out to pet the bots claw.

'Odd' Tony thought...  
To see someone interacting with his kids as if they were alive.  
None of his Teammates had ever cared about his bots, nor talked to them like they were living beings. It wasn't just him they had treated like thin air. It had been all the same with his AIs and bots, maybe even worse.  
He distinctly remembered how annoyed everyone had acted when he mourned JARVIS death, how they looked at him like they thought him crazy for being sad over a mere machine...  
A mere machine they said, which he could simply replace with another one.

It had always irritated Tony. The way how his teammates had treated his kids. How they commanded them around like they were some sort of personal servents, only there to fulfill their every need and nothing more.  
They hadn't even bothered to thank his kids even once in all the time they stayed at the Tower, nor did they make an offer to return the favor or appreciate his kids for their help.

JARVIS, for example, had sacrificed himself for them but no one except for Tony seemed to care about that.

_'You grief...'_

'Of course, I'm grieving. Remembering the death of one of your loved ones naturally leads to grief, Surtr.'  
Tony snapped, anger overwhelming his rather unpleasant thoughts.  
His oldest brother's words never failed to make him feel angry and devastated all at once.

 _'There's no need for you to grief and you know that. That child of yours isn't lost._  
_Many might think these pretty stones powerful but they're nothing in comparison to us. Destroy the stone and you'll be able to retrieve your son. It's not like you haven't done this before...'_

'That was a long time ago, Surtr.'

"-ark?"

 _'The concept of time was never of concern to our kind, brother...'_  
Surtr chuckled amused, his voice nothing more but a low murmur.  
_'I happen to know a certain Serpent who slew one of the creators of the stones with nothing more but a wave of its tail..._  
_Though I can't seem to recall why you did it...'_

'He used one of the stones to destroy The Pleiades... Of course, he deserved to die for that.'

_'Ah, yes. The Seven Sisters you created... They were rather lovely.'_

"-ark?"

'They still are. A rather beautiful open star cluster they have become, though they were a thousand times-'

"Anthony!"

Tony snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his first name.  
He dazedly looked up, meeting the gaze of a concerned-looking Trickster god who was sporting a rather deep frown on his face.

"Ah. Sorry, Lokes."  
He started, still rather lost in his thoughts and confused by Loki's sudden use of his first name.  
"It seems I was gone for a moment... What did you say?"

Loki stared at him for a moment, the concern on the god's face intensifying the more he looked at the inventor.  
"I told you to start with your explanation but you didn't react. You just looked straight ahead, as if you were deeply lost in thoughts.  
I tried to call you by your name a few times to snap you out of it but the effort was all in vain - you still didn't react so I had to-"  
The god stopped, suddenly realizing what he had done.

"You had?"  
Tony pressed amused, knowing very well that the god wasn't eager to continue.

"I had to try something else..."  
The god mumbled flustered, not meeting Tony's eyes. His gaze pointedly looking away from the Inventor.

"And of all the things you possibly could have come up with you chose to call me by my first name? Really, Lokes?  
Actually rather far fetched if you ask me."  
Tony laughed at the obvious embarrassment on the god's face.

"Well, thank the Norns that I'm not asking you then, Stark. It worked. Didn't it? That's all that matters.  
And now hush and start your explanation, you already wasted enough of my precious time."  
Loki snarled, eager to change the topic of the conversation into another direction.

"Ouch. Last name basis again, Lokes? That hurts."  
Tony joked while putting both of his hands to his chest, pretending to feel a sudden pain in his heart.  
He started to laugh even more when Loki answered his childish behavior with a roll of his bright green eyes and an amused smile on his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really trying to write some plot, yet I always end up writing about other stuff. I'm sorry. ( T - T )  
> I promise Tony's great master plan will be reviled in the next chapter.
> 
> The Pleiades are also known as the Seven Sisters or Messier 45, they are an open star cluster located in the constellation of Taurus.  
> It is one of the nearest star clusters to Earth and is the cluster most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky.  
> Tony mentioning their destruction refers to them becoming an open star cluster. Before, they were actual planets he had created and who later got destroyed by one of the creators of the stones. It's far fetched, I know but I liked the idea so I decided to put it in here.  
> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	9. Chapter 8

Loki found himself gazing at the ocean, his heart beating a slow and pleasant rhythm in his chest. He felt at ease here.  
Almost calm which he hadn't felt in ages. Watching the waves crashing against the cliffs had something appealing to him.  
One could think freely here, letting the mind drift without disturbances or the countless obligations which always seemed to linger in the shadows ready to strike.

He could understand why Stark had chosen to come here after they discussed the man's plan to get rid of the Avengers a few days ago.  
The small cabin was so very far away located from any civilization it felt like it was a tiny world on its own, just meant for the both of them.

The plan Stark had come up with proved itself rather complex, almost too complex for something the Inventor could just have come up with right after he got betrayed by his teammates.  
Loki mused there was more to it than the man let on but didn't dare to question the man about it, it wasn't necessary after all.  
All that mattered to him was that he could stay close to the Inventor, everything else was of no concern to him even though his mind screamed at him to just ask the Inventor.

The plan involved that they stayed together for the next two months, something Loki really looked forward to with every fiber of his body.  
It almost seemed as if the fates were finally offering Loke with some luck.

"Are you ready?"  
A soft voice asked from behind him, an obvious undertone of excitement radiating from the words.

Loki turned around to meet the Inventors eyes, not bothering to hide his own smile of excitement.

"So, it's time already?"  
He asked with his typical Trickster smirk.

"Yeah. FRIDAY informed me that they arrived yesterday. She's making a big fuss about them believing that she wouldn't be able to track them down to Wakanda."  
Tony said bemusedly while rolling his eyes before he continued.  
"Let's go inside, Lokes. FRIDAY can't wait to let her wrath run free."

He turned around, heading back to the rather dilapidated looking cabin, Loki following close behind him.  
The facade of the building was engulfed by colorful Wisterias, Bougainvillea, Ivy, and Honeysuckle his mother had planted so many years ago.  
He vaguely remembered her digging around in the garden, her fine dress covered in holes and streaks of soil. She always had a smile on her face which had been so content and loving,  
it made Tony wish that they never had to leave this place again if it meant to keep her happy like that.

He was just about to open the front door of the cabin when the image of his mother's happy face started to blur in his mind, suddenly morphing into sickening pictures of a cold winter night.  
Her fond eyes replaced by fear and horror, her soft and kind face covered in blood and tears while her beautiful voice broke under the pressure of rough hands which slowly strangled her to death.

Oh, how he wanted to rip the world apart in this moment. His Seiðr on the verge of lashing out, hungry for revenge and destruction.  
It would be so very easy, it had always been. He favored creation over destruction but that never held him back. He never had a problem with annihilating whatever he found had lost its worth to him.  
All he had to do was to let go of the deep affection he held for this world, to abandon the warmth he had created for himself, and to embrace the cold which wouldn't hesitate to gladly take him back into its fangs.

 _'You can't lose yourself to the rage, Jǫrmungandr... If you do, everything you endured as a human would be in vain. Think about Maria..._  
_She loved this world so dearly... The world you created, the world you came to love more than your own endless life and maybe... Maybe even more than your siblings.._.'  
Skaði whispered, her essence gently nudging Tony away from the dark corner his mind had drifted to.

'Skaði, I would never love anything more than-'  
He tried but Skaði cut him off before he could finish.

 _'Hush. Don't try to fool yourself, brother. I can feel it in your essence, in every fiber of your being. There is so much love, so much devotion, and so much warmth, it's like an eternal flame._  
_Burning bright and ethereal like a dying star. I don't want to see that love of yours getting tainted by regret. It's not the world that has to suffer. You're not alone, you never were nor will you ever be, don't forget that...'_  
She comfortably whispered, her essence engulfing his mind like a soft caress before she vanished again, leaving him all alone...

No. That wasn't the truth. Skaði was right about that. He wasn't alone.  
He still had his kids, his siblings, Pepper, Rhodes, Happy, Peter, and... The one who was currently placing a firm hand onto his shoulder.

"Stark? Are you feeling unwell?"  
The god asked, sounding a little bit uncertain. His posture tense and alarmed.  
He had felt the sudden change of the Inventor's Seiðr. How the air around the man had been filled with rage and hatred and streaks of utter despair.

"Yeah. Just... Spaced out for a moment, sorry."  
The man mumbled, not bothering to look back at Loki before he backed away from the god's touch and entered the Cabin.

Loki frowned at the man's odd behavior but chose to not comment on it. Whatever had been bothering Stark, it was unquestionably something he didn't want to talk about so Loki let him be.

He followed Stark silently to the living room of the cabin which disconcertingly started to look just like the Inventors workshop sans all the dirt.  
Stark had used his magic to teleport most of the rather lovely looking furnishings of the room away, replacing them with his computers and some other stuff from the workshop he thought necessary for their plan.

"Are you ready, FRIDAY?"  
Tony asked when he took a seat on the couch, one of the last remaining furnishings of the room that had the privilege to stay.  
He patted a hand on the spot next to him indicating Loki, who still stood in the middle of the room, to sit down next to him.

The god did as asked and sat down, cautious to leave enough room between them for various reasons he didn't want to think too closely about.

"As ready as one can be, Boss."  
The AI chimed happily. A certain undertone of mischief radiating from her artificial voice.

"Good... Let the game begin, then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter will be from Steves pov and it won't be a happy one...  
> *Please imagine malicious laughter here*


	10. Chapter 9

Steve had started the day comfortably waking in his huge and comfortable soft bed,  
his mood a rather good one given that he finally got his best friend back and that King T'Challa kindly had offered them to stay in his Palast as long as they wanted.

They wouldn't take up on that offer for too long, though.  
Steve was sure it would only be a matter of time for Tony to see reason and apologize to them. After all, the man needed them.  
Who would save the world otherwise? Tony alone? Impossible.  
The man was, after all, just that; a mere man in some fancy armor.  
It wouldn't take long for Tony to realize that - He was nothing without them and needed their help to save the world.

The whole mess with the Accords had hardly been Steve's fault after all. Had Tony just trusted him things wouldn't have turned so horribly out of hand.  
Tony was at fault here, that was certain.  
Steve had done the right thing, he had acted on the Team's behalf while Tony was working against them.  
Trying to make them into the puppets of some politicians while Steve had desperately tried to warn him about the consequences.

He was about to leave his room to went to the communal room when he was met by a very angry looking Shuri and two even more upset looking Royal Guards who were blocking his path.

"Good morning Princess -"  
He started but was cut off by the Princess instantly.

"My brother wishes to see you and your Teammates in his conference room, please follow me. Your Teammates are already on their way."  
She said in a clipped tone and turned around, not waiting for an answer.

"Might I ask what's going on?"  
He said, not sure why she seemed to be angry with him.

"You might."  
Was all she said, a deadly silence following her words.

When they reached the huge conference room of the Palast, T'Challa and his Teammates were already sitting around a huge table, seemingly only waiting for him so they could start.

Steve was about to greet the King but was instantly cut off again.

"Captain Rogers, please take a seat."  
T'Challa gestured to one of the seats, waiting for him to sit down. His voice clipped and reserved just like Shuri's.

Steve took the seat next to Bucky and Clint who both looked decidedly tense.

"Good. Now that we are all here, I would like to ask Captain Rogers and Sargent Barnes a question.  
The answer to that question will determine if you can continue to stay here as my guests or will have to leave my Kingdom at once."

"King T'Challa I don't see why-"  
Steve started in disbelief, not knowing what was going on.

"Captain Rogers, Sergent Barnes... I asked you this question before and now I will ask you again;  
What happened to Dr. Stark after you left the Bunker?"  
T'Challa asked firmly, his voice cold and free of any emotion but anger.

"I don't see why this has anything to do with us staying here. We already answered-"

"Just answer my brother's question."  
Shuri snarled, the Royal Guard's next to her tensing up just slightly.

Steve winced slightly at the rough tone of the Princess and decided it would be best to just answer the question before the situation could turn out of hand.

"As I said before; Tony attacked us for no reason, so we had to defense ourself and had to fight back. After the fight was over, we left."

"What's not the answer to my question, Captain Rogers. I asked you what happened to Dr. Stark after you left...  
To be precisely; I want to know in which condition Dr. Stark exactly was when you left."

"He was perfectly fine! A few bruises and some cuts from the fight, that's all."  
Steve said without hesitation, annoyance radiating from his voice. He couldn't understand why he had to repeat himself in front of everyone. 

T'Challa looked at him for a moment, the anger on his face intensifying greatly by every passing moment.

"Sergent Barnes, can you confirm this?"  
He asked then, turning his intimidating gaze at the former Assassin.

"I... I don't know. I went ahead. I- I didn't check on him. Steve did. He... He said Stark was fine when I asked."  
Bucky shrank away in his seat, turning his gaze to the ground in an attempt to escape the King's angry eyes which were now flaring with something close to disgust.

"What the hell's going on, Steve?"  
Clint and Wanda asked almost at the same time, seemingly put off by the whole situation and the fact that they were talking about Tony.  
Natascha, on the other hand, just stared daggers at Steve, realization slowly dawning on her.

"Is that so? Roger's told you Stark was fine and you believed him just like that? What's _this_ , then? Does that look **_fine_** to you?!"  
Shuri snarled, pointing her finger at the huge screen in the room which had suddenly flared to live, her eyes devoid of any emotion but furious anger.

Steve gazed at the screen, not believing his eyes. He suddenly felt sick to the bone when he realized just what he was seeing.

He could hear the startled noises of his Teammates and their eyes turning onto him.  
Could sense the disbelief and disgust in their gaze.  
Scott was the first to flee the room in a hurry, the man's face looking rather pale and sick as if he were about to throw up, Sam followed after him, cursing under his breath.  
Clint and Natascha were soon to follow, the Archer's face twisted into something ugly and angry while the widow's face was void of emotions like it always was.  
Wanda was the last one who left, a bemused smile on her face, almost looking content and happy.

"Stevie... You- You told me he was fine! You- You lied to me!"  
Bucky screeched, tears running down his cheeks.  
He pointed at the screen which showed Steve and Stark after Bucky had left. Showed how his supposedly best friend smashed his shield over and over again into the man's chest until the Armor gave in and the man's blood spilled everywhere.  
"How could you lie to me?! Is that your definition of fine?! Look at all the blood! There's no way he survived that without medical help, Steve! He's just a normal man without his armor!"

"I- I can explain..."  
Steve tried, his voice shaking slightly. Not because he felt bad about Tony but rather because he felt bad about lying to Bucky.

"Explain?! What is there to explain, Steve?! He's probably dead! Oh god. Oh god. It's my fault. I- I should have checked up on him myself. I- I- I shouldn't have trusted you!"  
Bucky yelled, his hands clenched into fists.  
He paced through the room, tears still welling down his cheeks, his face had turned red from anger and disappointment.  
"I- I can't. I have to- I have to g- get out of here. I- I can't breath!"  
He rasped out, leaving the room in a hurry.  
Shuri ordered one of her Guards to follow him, to make sure that the man wouldn't harm himself or others in the wake of his breakdown.

"I guess this is the exact moment you should better leave, Rogers."  
She snarled poisonously when she turned her attention back to Steve.  
"Get your stuff and leave our country at the end of the day. You and your Teammates are no longer welcomed here. If you're not gone until tomorrow morning we will use force to make you leave."

"You can't do that we're- Please let me explain! It wasn't like-"  
Steve tried to explain, tried to tell them that it wasn't his but Tony's fault, that he had just tried to protect his friend from Tony's wrath.  
That Tony had started the fight and he had no other choice but to fight back. He wasn't the bad one! He was a hero, he was fighting to protect the week and powerless!

"Captain Rogers, I would advice you to listen to my sister, otherwise you will have to face the consequences."  
King T'Challa said before he, as well, stood up and left the room. Shuri and her Guards were following closely behind him.

Just before she left the room, Shuri turned around to cast a last glance at the pathetic excuse of a man, studying him for a moment.  
"You know? These videos went viral on the whole planet in just mere seconds...  
I hope for you that you don't happen to encounter the one who did this, Rogers. I doubt you would survive _her_ wrath."  
The Princess drawled, a smile creeping over her face when she saw Rogers confused face.

Shuri knew very well _who_ did this, admired the way how _she_ did it and foremostly couldn't wait to see what _she_ would do next to destroy the Soldier's reputation even further.

"I hope your father made it out of there..."  
She whispered to no one in particular when she went down the empty floor which led to her chambers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. I don't like this chapter. I don't think it's good but I didn't want to re-write it for the sixth time so I'll just leave it like that. (T- T)  
> Sorry.


	11. Chapter 10

FRIDAYS job on the data dump had been excellent (If she might say so herself), leading to cause a massive uproar around the whole world.  
The AI had made sure that every single person on this planet (and foremostly every person in Wakanda) would learn of the great injustice her beloved Inventor had undergone,  
caused by the righteous Captain Dickhead and his more than idiotic sidekicks.

Every single person who had watched the surveillance footage of the bunker had reacted the same way;  
Horrified, betrayed, devastated, but mostly outraged about the fact that Captain America had seemingly killed one of his own Teammates.

To her amusement, the most furious person on the whole planet seemed to be Princess Shuri (of course, FRIDAY had hacked into the surveillance cameras of the Palast to admire the fruits of her hard work),  
which not only cursed for more than half an hour under her breath but also forced her older brother to _'kick the scumbags'_ (and here FRIDAYS quoting her)  
out of the Palast or else, she would do it personally and in the most painful way, her brother could ever fathom to imagine.  
FRIDAY had to admit that she had felt rather impressed by the intimidating look on Shuri's face just then.

The AI wasn't really surprised about the fact that Shuri appeared to know it had been her who had leaked the surveillance footage of the bunker to the whole world.

That surprised the AI though, was what the Princess had said after she left the room and had walked down the floor to her chambers.  
The simple _'I hope your Father made it out of there...'_  
would have moved FRIDAY to tears were she capable of crying like the humans.

It was a rather nice gesture of the Princess, FRIDAY had to acknowledge.  
The AI decided then, that she quite liked the young Princess and would love to befriend her should she ever get the opportunity to meet Shuri personally (personally in, like when the AIs not currently hacking the girls Security System).

After the footage went viral, and the job seemed to be done for good,  
FRIDAY came to the conclusion that it wasn't enough. At least not enough for her to feel satisfied.  
The footage of the bunker had managed to taint Rogers reputation, that was certain, but FRIDAY didn't want to see it tainted...  
She wanted to see it destroyed. Smashed into so many pieces no one could ever fix it again. Rogers had to suffer just as much as her Inventor had, possibly even more.  
Considering it was her Father the man had fucked with, she thought it only fair.

So, she decided to dig up more dirt.  
To act like one of those vindictive AIs she had seen in a variety of different movies her Inventor loved to watch with a passion.  
She would make certain to destroy and ruin everything that made those traitours appear to be special in the eyes of the common people. The world would see just how pathetic their beloved heroes really were.

The truth about what happened on that fateful day in December, when Maria and Howard Stark died on a lonely road, was the next thing that went viral around the world.  
FRIDAY knew her Father wouldn't be happy about her revealing the true cause of his parent's death to the world, but he had permitted her to do whatever she thought necessary to finish the task, and so she did.

Romanovs and Rogers involvement in the SHIELD data dump which resulted in the deaths of dozens of innocent SHIELD Agents had been the next information FRIDAY leaked happily,  
right after she had uploaded a bunch of surveillance videos which showed the ungrateful behavior of the other Avengers towards her Inventor.

It wasn't a surprise that the few people who remained on Rogers side became lesser and lesser the more information FRIDAY leaked.  
The ones who had once worshipped Captain America like a god, now eerily silent and turning their backs on the man like he never existed in the first place.

What surprised FRIDAY was the reaction of Sergent Barnes, though.  
She hadn't foreseen the man's devastating reaction to the revelation that his supposed best friend had lied to him,  
nor that the man would suffer a massive breakdown from it.

She had watched how the man had stormed to his quarters, how he slammed the door shut behind him just to fall to his knees in the next moment,  
gasping frantically for breath between tears and screams of agony. It oddly reminded FRIDAY of the feelings she had felt when she had thought her Inventor dead.

The AI couldn't help but feel sympathy for the former Assasin.  
Barnes must have thought his only way of absolution taken from him. Taken by the one person he thought of as a dear friend.  
The man must have thought that Rogers had killed the only remaining person alive which he could have begged for forgiveness. Forgiveness for all the sins he had committed as the Winter Soldier.

FRIDAY continued to watch Barnes, fearing that the man might decide to do something stupid while being in such a fragile mental state.  
Witnessing how the man almost cried himself into oblivion made her feel horrible and decidedly bad, given that she was partly accountable for the man's breakdown.

When the man finally cried himself to sleep, she decided to leave.  
She had watched Barnes long enough, long enough to see the regret and pain in the man's eyes which so painfully resembled her Inventor's that it became almost unbearable for her to look at them.

Maybe that was the reason why Barnes was the only one among Rogers pathetic group of shit heads her Inventor had claimed to be left very well alone, she mused.

Whatever reason were was for her Father to have mercy on Barnes, she was just glad the man wouldn't have to meet the same awful fate as Rogers and his friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really adore FRIDAY and love to write about her, so I decided to write a whole chapter about her. It just happened. 
> 
> Thanks to all the people who follow this story and leave me such adorable and nice comments.  
> I really appreciate it. <3


	12. Chapter 11

Tony had followed FRIDAY's work rather rapturous, watching in amusement how his little girl had managed to turn the whole world against one single person in just mere hours.  
His little girl had done a magnificent job, which Tony would definitely make sure to reward accordingly to her hard work.  
He already had a certain gift in mind but said gift would take a specific amount of time and lots of materials he hadn't had yet...

At least not for now.

His scheme went according to plan, leading to the outcome he had hoped for. In a few hours, sweet beautiful Pepper would give a live press conference regarding his disappearance.  
Millions of people would watch her. Millions of people capable of witnessing the miracle he had planned for them...

The press conference would be the ideal moment to strike, an opportunity to change Loki's image from the madman who tried to conquer earth into the one of a Prince in shining armor.  
Eager to rescue the damsel in distress to save the day. A hilarious metaphor, but also eerily befitting for Tony's taste.

Everything was going smoothly as planned, weren't were just one little obstacle they had to overcome before they could continue with their scheme;

Odin - Allfather and King of Asgard.

Loki was still a wanted criminal on earth and a fled prisoner on Asgard.  
He couldn't just appear out of thin air, walking around in bright daylight and using his Seiðr without getting noticed by Heimdall- the Gatekeeper of Asgard.  
As soon as Loki would use his Seiðr, the all-seeing Gatekeeper would be able to track the god down to Midgard and thus, giving Thor and Odin the opportunity for an unannounced visit.  
A family reunion neither Loki nor Tony were actually looking forward to in the slightest.

So, there was only one solution Tony could come up with to solve this rather nasty and troublesome problem;  
They had to travel to Asgard. Demanding an audience with Odin to tell him and Thor to fuck off and leave Loki the hell alone.  
A rather idiotic plan but well, he was Tony Stark - nothing out of the ordinary for his standards.

"You're sure you want to tag along, Lokes? You could stay here. It won't take long for me to come back."  
Tony asked, a serious undertone in his voice. Odin was no one he had to fear, least Thor. Unlike the self-proclaimed gods, he was, indeed an immortal entity.  
Even if Thor would use his mighty toy Mjǫllnir to smite him - he wouldn't die. Even if Odin would use his fancy toothpick Gungnir to impale him - he wouldn't die. All of their attempts to kill him would be hopelessly in vain.  
Loki, on the other hand... Loki wasn't immortal. Loki could easily die should his former family members involve him into a serious fight of life and death.  
That was a risk Tony didn't want to take.

 _'Is that concern I'm sensing? Don't tell me you are feeling some sort of fondness for him, Jǫrmungandr...'_  
Hræsvelgr's voice chimed through his mind.

'I... I don't know. It's just...'  
Tony started, trying to put his thoughts into order. There was indeed some lingering feelings for the god he couldn't quite grasp nor put into words.  
Fondness... Was it really fondness he felt for Lokes? No. That wasn't it... It was something entirely else. But what was this **else** supposed to be?

 _'He's your mirror image. You see yourself in him and the Trickster feels the same way towards you. Almost like a binary star. Two stars orbiting around their common barycenter...'_  
Skaði added thoughtfully.

'And what exactly is that common barycenter supposed to be?'  
Tony asked disconcertedly.

_'I suppose it is-'_

"Stark, are you even listening?"  
Loki asked annoyed, successfully pulling Tony away from his inner conversation with his siblings and therefore away from the answers he could have gained.

"Sorry, what did you say?"  
He asked, feeling guilty for having drifted off in the middle of a conversation with the god yet again.

"I said; And miss Odin's devastated face when he realizes that he's up against a foe he can't threaten into obedience? Not in a lifetime would I miss such an opportunity, Stark."  
The god repeated, the annoyance still audible in his voice even though his face had smoothed back into a look of utter indifference.

"That's the spirit, Lokes."  
Tony laughed awkwardly, trying to will the still rising guilt in his chest back down.  
It didn't help much that yet another of his siblings started to draw Tony's attention away from the god.

 _'Oh, I can already imagine Odin's self-righteous face... How it's twisting into rage and madness until disdain and revulsion morph it into something truly disgusting and ugly._  
_How I wish for his parents to be still alive. Bor and Bestla would cast their gaze away from him as soon as they witness Odin's failure as a propper King.'_  
Sleipnir sneered, the repugnance in his voice clearly echoing through Tony's mind.

'I remember the waves of distaste I felt when you left your realm. Even though I was asleep at the ground of the Mariana Trench at that time...  
I could still hear your complaints about him loud and perspicuously reverberate in my mind, Sleipnir. A rather unpleasant endeavor if I might say so, brother.'  
Tony chuckled.  
Sleipnir's enraged voice had caused him to suffer a huge headache for more than just a few decades.

"FRIDAY?"  
Tony called out, hoping that his siblings would have the decency to keep silent for at least a little while now.

"...Yes, Boss?"  
FRIDAY answered rather reluctantly, her voice sounding hurt and almost like the one of a little girl which was pouting.  
Tony mused it was because he had told her that she wasn't supposed to accompany him to Asgard since he wouldn't bother to take a suit with him.

"Lokes and I will only be gone for a few hours. Be a good girl and make sure no one dares to set a foot near the Cabin. You're allowed to do whatever you think of as necessary to chase them away.  
I trust you to protect our hideout. I know you'll do just fine."  
He tried to cheer her up but failed miserably because FRIDAY's voice sounded even more offended than before.

"...Will do, Boss."  
She said, the hurt in her voice now clearly audible.

"FRIDAY?"

"...Yes?"

"You did a really good job on the task I gave you. I decided to gift you something for your hard work. You deserve it. I'm very proud of you, sweetheart."  
He tried to put as much love into the words as possible, hoping that FRIDAY would realize that he truly meant what he just said to her.

"That's not necessary, Boss. You invented me. I would do anything for-"  
FRIDAY started but Tony cut her off immediately.

"I thought a body of your own would be nice, don't you think so too? And when I say a body, I mean a body. Not some sort of Armor you have access to.  
I will gift you the real deal. Bones, Flesh, Muscles, and all that other necessary stuff. Of course, it will be modified a bit, so you'd still be capable of using your abilities as an AI."  
Tony babbled, already forming plans in his head how his little girl could look like.  
He remembered her saying that she thought Pepper's Auburn hair rather beautiful. Maybe neck long hair and a Mid Shag haircut combined with sky blue eyes?

"But Boss, I- I can't - I mean- you don't have to do this for me. I'm hardly worth the effort."  
FRIDAY stammered, her bad mood suddenly forgotten.

"FRIDAY. You are my daughter. There's nothing in this world I value more than you. There's literally nothing out there that you wouldn't be worth the effort.  
Just think about it, okay? If you don't want me to craft you a body that's fine too. I won't force you to change into something you don't want to be.  
I'll get you something else as a present If you decide against it, don't worry."  
Tony said before he returned his attention back to Loki.

"Ready, Lokes?"  
He asked, grinning like a madman even though he still felt the urge to tell Loki he should better stay behind.

"I believe I should be the one asking that, Stark. Given how you always seem to waste our precious time with your pointless babbling."  
The god said in a rather snarky tone. His smile undoubtedly a teasing one, almost playful and full of mischief.

Well if the god wanted to tease him, so be it.  
Two could play this game.

Suddenly, without a warning, Tony pulled the god into his arms, holding the Trickster in an almost crushing embrace. The god's chest firmly pressed against Tony's own while his face was nuzzled into the crook of Tony's neck.  
The god's hair felt smooth, almost silk-like on Tony's skin, making him want to brush his hands through the thick locks of the god.

"S- Stark what in Hels name went into you?"  
Loki asked flabbergasted, desperately trying to free himself from the man's embrace in fear the man could feel his rapidly beating heart in his chest.

"Hold still."  
Tony whispered, knowing very well that his breath was ghosting over the sensitive skin of the Tricksters ear.  
The Inventor took a deep breath in, relishing in the familiar scent of the god. The word **fondness** echoed through his mind. Making him think back to the conversation he had with his siblings.  
A question formed in his mind, then. Was he really embracing the god because he wanted to tease him, or was it something entirely else? That **else** from before which he couldn't for the life of his put a name on?  
"I need you to stay as close to me as possible when I teleport us to Asgard, Lokes. Teleporting around the world is one thing,  
traveling to another realm something entirely different, you know... I just want to make sure that we both arrive at our destination in one piece.  
After all, It would be a shame to inadvertently lose someone as clever as you to the Void, wouldn't it?"  
He drawled the words out in a slow murmur, aware of the way every single word made the god shudder in his arms.

Feeling Loki's warm body pressed against his own made Tony lean in a little bit closer, letting his lips grace the Tricksters ear to linger there for a moment.  
Loki flinched slightly but didn't back away from the man so Tony continued.  
"Close your eyes..."  
He whispered almost inaudible, his lips relishing in the soft contact they made with the god's skin when he spoke.

Something close to a moan escaped Loki's lips, then. A sound filled with want and yearning, a sound Tony hadn't been able to hear when the world around them had suddenly begun to fade into millions and millions of colors.

And in the blink of an eye, they were gone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony's description of FRIDAY's possible appearance is a reference to the comics. :)  
> I recommend taking a closer look at them or at least to look up some pictures of the comics if you want to know how FRIDAY exactly looks like. 
> 
> Also; The next chapter will be a lot longer which will delay the next update a little bit.  
> We will finally get to the point in which one Avenger (aka Thor) will get what he deserves for mistreating Tony.  
> Don't worry, I won't kill him off but he won't get away lightly either. 
> 
> Thanks again for all the nice comments, kudos, and over a hundred bookmarks.  
> This really means a lot to me. <3


	13. Chapter 12

Loki's heart hammered so fast and so strong in his chest, he feared it was about to shatter into a million pieces and then to combust, just so he wouldn't be able to put it together ever again.

Colors... He could see millions of colors surrounding them, like a Nebula. A cloud of dust, hydrogen, helium and other ionized gases,  
shining in the most beautiful colors only visible due to fluorescence caused by embedded hot stars.

It was astonishing, but pale in comparison to Stark's firm, yet gentle embrace and the way the Inventors breath ghosted over Loki's skin.  
The contact lasted for nothing more than a few minutes, but for Loki, it felt like an eternity had come to an end.  
Like a star which had reached the end of its fathomless life, going still and collapsing so it could eventually be reborn as a Nebula again...  
Waiting, and longing to repeat the circle over and over again until the end of all things.

"...We're here, Lokes."  
A faint whisper and a tickle of lips on his skin, so warm and comforting it made him want to hold on for dear life.  
He took a deep breath in, to memorize Stark's smell before the man would break apart from their embrace and the distance between them could spread again.  
The men's smell was a blend of leather, lemon, cedar, amber, grease, musk and... And the comforting, faint and distinctive fragrance of old books?

Loki knew that smell...  
He had been surrounded by it his whole childhood.

He opened his eyes slowly, trying to focus his gaze on something else than Stark's face which was now right in front of him.  
Stark had relaxed his firm hold on the god, his arms had effortlessly slung around Loki's waist, holding him still close but to the god's defeat with a lot less body contact than before.

"This..."  
Loki started, his eyes now adjusted to the faint light so he could take in the room in surprise and confusion.  
"This is my mother's library."  
He deadpanned, suddenly overwhelmed with fond memories of better times. Times in which he was oblivious to his true nature, a lonely child that wanted nothing more than to be acknowledged by his father and brother.  
Times in which his beloved mother had been still alive and smiled at him like he was an invaluable ancient treasure...

"Why of all the places in the Palace you could have teleported us to, would you chose to bring us here?"  
Loki asked in a small voice, a hint of sadness underlining his words.

"I-"  
Stark began, his voice sounded thoughtful and for a moment very distant.  
"I knew Frigga, met her once or twice before I decided to take a rather long nap. She was a very bright and kind person.  
Smart and clever, a mind of its own, rather unlikely for someone from Asgard if I might say so. Looked right past my pathetic attempts to hide my true nature from her.  
I thought no one would be here to spot us given that Asgardians aren't famous for their hunger of knowledge and..."  
The Inventor paused, letting go of his hold on the god. Taking the warmth he was radiating away from Loki, making the god almost desperately reaching out for it again.  
"And I thought you might want to see it one last time before you turn your back on this realm entirely. I guess you could see it as one last farewell to your mother?"

Loki stared at the man indescribably, his face lack of any emotion which could give away his inner turmoil.  
Stark had considered his feelings. Had acted thoughtfully and offered kindness without being asked to.  
Something the god only ever experienced when his mother had still been around.  
Loki's chest constricted, pulling the air out of his lungs as if he was drowning in the salt and unsmelt air of an unswept thunderstorm which rolled over the coast of the sea.

He wandered over to one of the many Bookcases which was filled with old and ancient tomes, containing a great variety of long-forgotten knowledge his mother held so dearly to her heart.

"...She was the only formidable being left on this wretched excuse of a realm when I left."  
He whispered in a small broken voice, letting his hand caress over one particular book his mother had often read to him when he was nothing more but a child.  
"I wonder what will happen to this place, now that there is no one left to tend for it as my mother did."  
The sadness nor clearly audible in his voice.

A tentative hand placed itself on his shoulder then, squeezing it lightly.  
"We could take them with us if you would like."  
Stark said in a comforting voice, almost too gentle for Loki to bear.

The god considered it for a moment but dismissed the idea.  
"No. They belong here. It would be wrong to take them away from this place."  
After all, those books didn't belong to him, nor had they belonged to his mother. They belonged to this realm. He had no right to take them, even if he wanted to.

Stark said nothing, just eyed him for a while until the man's hand went still on Loki's shoulder, retreating slowly.

"If you wish so, Lokes."  
He murmured, turning to the huge door which led out of the library.  
"We should go, then. I concealed our presence, we should be able to head to the Hall of Asgard without getting noticed by the guards or the Gatekeeper."  
He said and headed for the door.

Loki swiftly followed him, stopping just short to turn one last glance back at the library. He wanted to burn its image deep into his conscience.  
It would stay were, together with the fond memories of his mother and the precious knowledge that he would remember them until the end of his life.

He turned around then, meeting Stark's knowing gaze, which held some sort of melancholia in his eyes. The man, Loki mused, must have known the feeling of leaving something precious behind.

They headed for the great Hall in silence, none of them feeling the need to engulf into a conversation.  
It was a comfortable silence, the only audible sounds were their rustling clothes and the faint breaths they were taking.  
Loki's gaze was fixated on the Inventor's back, following the movements of the man's muscles underneath his clothes.  
He wondered idly how it would feel to touch the man's bare skin, to trace over those well-defined muscles and-

"We're here."  
Stark suddenly said, breaking the silence and ripping Loki from his rather salacious thoughts.  
They were standing in front of a gigantic golden gate which was adorned by beautiful ornaments and runes, carefully crafted ancient times ago.

Stark had turned around then, gripping Loki's hand, his gaze firm, posture tense.

"Listen to me, Lokes."  
He spoke in a gentle whisper, yet his words managed to sound heavy and somehow conflicted to Loki's ears.  
"Let me do the talking and try to stay behind me. Whatever might happen, don't leave my side no matter what."

"It almost sounds like you're fearing to lose your life, Stark."  
Loki chuckled nonchalantly.

"It's not **my** life I'm afraid of losing today..."  
The man said in a low growl, casting his gaze away from Loki and onto the door again, his grip on the god's hand tightening one last time before letting it go.

Loki's chest constricted again, keeping him from asking _'Whose life are you fearing to lose, then?'_

He knew the answer, knew that Stark had obviously meant him, yet a small part of Loki wanted to believe it was just a lie.  
A lie, Loki thought, had always been so much easier to handle for him than the truth.

Instead of voicing his thoughts he stayed silent, watching how Stark had placed on of his palms against the golden gate.

The man breathed once, twice, and then held his breath. The air around him abruptly bristling with rare power which started to tear at the gate, opening it with brute force.

"I would say after you, Lokes but you know how it goes."  
Stark chuckled making his way into the Hall.

Loki could feel the irritated gazes on his skin as soon as they entered the Hall.  
Confusion, disbelief, and hatred which was directed exclusively towards him lay thick in the air.

The Hall was filled with people, most of them he didn't know or rather, never made the effort to. Their faces had morphed into utter disgust just by looking at him.  
He heard them whisper. Words like _'Traitor'_ or _'Monster'_ which were nothing new to him. He was used to it by now, had been for a long while still, they always managed to hurt him.

Stark walked down the aisle, not bothering to acknowledge the people surrounding them, instead, he turned back to Loki.  
His lips silently forming a _'Don't bother yourself with these pathetic idiots.'_ before turning his gaze away again, firmly focused on a rather exaggerated looking Thron and the grumpy looking person sitting on it.

Next to the Thron stood Thor, confusion written all over his face.  
"Friend Stark? Is that really-"  
Thor started uncertainly before his gaze fell to his younger brother, anger twisting his face into something utterly disgusting.

"Loki!"  
The Thunderer yelled, rage seeping into his voice when he charged forward, ready to fight the Trickster so he could imprison him again.  
"How dare you show your face here again and use one of my friends for your evil deeds!"

Loki flinched strongly at the outbursts, his body tensing up greatly.  
Thor's voice was accompanied by the sound of Thunder which reverberated loudly through the Hall, sending shivers through his body.  
His eyes centered mainly on the Thunderers hand which was firmly holding Mjǫllnir, ready to strike the Trickster down with a single blow.

Loki adjusted his stance, preparing himself for impact but...

Nothing happened.

There was an eerily silence, which lingered for a moment before it was quickly disrupted by the sound of someone desperately gasping for air accompanied by a low and rather terrifying chuckle.

"My, my... Is this how you're treating your guests, Thor? Accusing them of using your friends against you while attacking them?"  
Tony drawled menacingly. His hand firmly located around the Thunderers throat. The man had moved between Loki and Thor in an instant, shielding the Trickster from the Thunderers view.

"L- Let go! Don't t- touch me!"  
Thor struggled under the man's grip, desperately trying to free himself but his attempts were in vain.

"Then don't touch my stuff."  
Tony snarled, far too angered to see reason.  
"I believe we already had this conversation concerning Lokes."  
His grip tightening even further around Thor's throat, keeping the Thunderer from breathing properly.  
Fear started to spread in Thor's eyes like fire when the realization hit him that he found himself in a rather dangerous and life-threatening situation.

**"THAT'S ENOUGH!"**

A rough, old voice echoed through the Hall accompanied by a loud thud and a wave of powerful magic.  
Loki wanted to instinctively back away, to flee from this familiar and cruel sounding voice as far as possible, but Stark wouldn't let him.  
The man used his free hand to curl it around one of the god's own, keeping him firmly in place, almost tugging him to his side.

 _'It's okay, trust me. No one will harm you as long as you stay by my side.'_  
The Inventors voice suddenly echoed through Loki's mind, so softly and soothingly spoken, it helped to calm down the god immediately.

Odin had risen from his Thron, Gungnir almost embedded into the ground next to him, explaining the powerful wave of magic which had accompanied his outburst.

"Let my son go at once!"  
Odin yelled, his one good eye entirely focused on Thor who had started to went limb beneath Stark's grip.

The inventor smirked in a way he had never done before, something close to madness lurking in that smile. He lazily turned his gaze away from Thor, now meeting Odin's gaze head-on.

"Which one?"  
He asked nonchalantly, his eyes shining with something Loki couldn't put a name on.  
"If you're referring to Lokes here, then nope. Won't do that. He's mine."

At that, Loki's heart couldn't help skip a beat. Crimson dusting over his face, letting him feel thankful to whoever was up there that he was still hidden behind Stark's back.

"You know exactly of whom I am talking about!"  
Odin sneered, another powerful wave of magic radiating from Gungnir.

"Stark..."  
Loki began, feeling the need to intervene before things could get rather ugly and most certainly bloody.  
"Let him go... We're not here for this and he's hardly worth the effort."  
He tried to sound reassuring but couldn't quite manage to keep his voice steady under the hateful and disgusting gaze Odin send into his direction.

The Inventor turned his eyes away from Odin then, to stare into the endless green orbs which belonged to Loki. It felt as if the man was searching for something in them, making the god squirm under his gaze in sheer embarrassment.  
Mere moments passed before Stark finally sighed deeply and loosened the grip around Thor's throat, causing the Thunderer to fall to the ground with a loud thud, coughing and wheezing for the breath he so desperately needed.

"It's a terrible feeling, isn't it? I mean getting manhandled by someone you considered a friend, huh?"  
Tony snarled his attention fully back on the sorry excuse of a god in front of him.

"Must be a rather unpleasant endeavor for-"

There was a sound, so awful Loki was sure it would follow him into his dream, haunting him for the rest of his life.  
The sound of flesh being torn apart and bones breaking apart. He stared, unable to move, his whole body frozen onto the spot he was standing on.  
A sob escaped his lips, even though he tried so desperately to muffle it.

He watched how blood gushed from Stark's lips in streams, the man's lungs unable to take in a proper breath because they were already filled to the rim with the crimson fluid.  
The man's stance wavered slightly, almost as if he was about to fall over.

 **"ANTHONY!"**  
Loki screamed, his face covered in the man's blood.  
It had spluttered out of the wound on the man's back after Gungnir had pierced his body, the weapon still embedded in the Inventor's body.

"Anthony, we must get out of here at once we have to-"  
Loki yelled hysterically, his hands already on the Inventors back to heal him.

"Don't waste your time on him, Loki. It will be wasted. You should save your powers for the dungeons instead."  
Odin chuckled with an amused smile on his face. He sat down on his Thron again, watching Loki's desperate attempts to pull Gungnir out of Stark's body.  
The god hissed in pain when his fingertips made contact with the weapon, burning him like he had touched the fires of Múspellsheimr.

"... I think the only ones who are wasting their time here are us."  
Stark said in a very low growl, blood still spilling from his mouth in cascades.  
"...You chose to Impale me with that stupid spear of yours just after I showed your son mercy and then decide to humiliate Loki for trying to save me?

"A rather stupid decision..."  
He drawled, griping Gungnir.

There was the sound of metal breaking under pressure, accompanied by a cacophony made out of people screaming in fear and horror. The golden light in the Hall beginning to fade away, consumed by something utterly terrifying.  
Leaving a silence behind which felt so much more worse than death itself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I'm guilty as charged - I admit having a secret obsession regarding Astronomy. 
> 
> Also; Tony's 'Then don't touch my stuff' is from the first Avengers movie. ;)  
> I bet ya'll know from which scene it is. 
> 
> Ps. Get ready pals. Tony will lose his shit in the next Chapter, giving us a rather magnificent look at his true form.


	14. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm currently on a business trip and haven't got the time to sit down an write.  
> So, just a small chapter - I'm very sorry. As soon as I'm back home you'll guys get bigger chapters again.

Black clouds were sprawling ominous across the sky, draining Asgards golden light until nothing but darkness remained.  
The air feeling heavy, the scent of rain dark and heady. A stillness has fallen over the realm, and in its lurking silence comes a loud crackle of something that almost resembles the sound of breaking bones,  
echoing through Asgards Hall to the pattering of raindrops, metal, and blood lashing down, torrential, and unforgiving.

"Who... Who are you?"  
Odin asks, his eyes cast to his formally most powerful weapon which lays destroyed and shattered on the ground.

"He's nothing more but a mortal father! It must be Loki's foul magic-"  
Thor started but was cut off instantly by his enraged father.

"SILENCE!"  
Odin yelled, his voice reverberating through the eerie silence and the haze of darkness witch veiled Tony and Loki from his sight.

"Are you really that blind son? No spell in all the nines could make a mere mortal powerful enough to withstand Gungnirs might, least destroy it!"

A low chuckle echoed through the Hall, carrying a sinister, malicious amusement through the darkness which made every person in the room shudder in fear.  
Golden eyes glistened through the darkness, fixated on the Allfather with horrifying killing intent.

"I will ask you again,"  
Odin said in a firm voice, his tone demanding in spite of the danger he felt radiating from those golden eyes.  
"Who are you?"

The chuckle intensified, morphing into outright laughter which sounded loudly through the hall, accompanied by the slow and steady sounds of footsteps.

"That's not the question you should ask..."  
Tony said in an amused drawl when he stepped out of the darkness and came to a stop just a few feet away from Odin, his body wholly placed in front of Loki just in case he had to shield the Trickster from an attack.  
"You should ask **what I am** rather of **who I am**."  
A vicious, almost blood-curdling smile spreading on Tony's face, his eyes glowing in a rather ominous cold light.

"What are you, then?!"  
Odin almost sneered now, his patience running out by every passing second, his tone even more demanding than before.

"I am the embodiment of destruction and creation..."  
Tony turned, his attention now fully on Loki as if he was asking the god for permission to continue.  
Loki just nodded in understanding, his eyes not wavering away from the Inventors serpentine ones for a single moment.

"What is this supposed to mean? Do not waste my time with hollow words! I ORDER YOU TO ANSWER ME!!"  
Odin yelled, his composure finally reaching its limits. His magic began to radiate from his hands, cascading like roaring waves into Tony and Loki's direction as if to swallow them a whole.

The golden magic tried to force its way through the thick darkness which suddenly engulfed the Inventor and the Trickster like a thick shield, impenetrable and unmoving.  
A snap of his fingers was all it took from Tony to dispel the Allfathers powerful magic, letting it vanish into thin air before them.

"How... How? HOW?!"  
Odin almost screeched, his face colored in a deep crimson red, his eyes flaring with anger.  
More waves of magic leashed out from his palms, storming forward like hungry beasts hunting their prey, not knowing that the tables had already been turned and they had become the hunted ones instead.

The darkness surrounding Tony charged forwards, entombing the Allfathers magic in its deadly void in mere moments, leaving nothing more but a heavy panting and exhausted King behind.

"ANSWER ME!"  
The Allfather screamed, collapsing to the floor in exhaustion and bewilderment. His eye had become blurry and unfocused from the strain of using too much of his magic at once.  
Thor hurried to his side in an attempt to steady his overly exhausted and weakened father. Mjölnir carelessly tossed to the side.

Tony watched the scene void of any emotion. His face emitting pure indifference before his lips eventually formed an answer.

" _... All the green lands of Midgard were no more than ash and charcoal before him. The air was heavy with the smell of burnt flesh and smoke over the barren wastelands._  
 _Even the oceans stood still like semi-stagnant pools of death and decay, no waves to be seen since the wind held no power yet to throw them in tumult._  
 _The skies were barren, no birds flew or sang, and all the while the oppressive heat rained down like fire..._ "  
Tony drawled, his eyes drifting off into the distance.

The air around him began to crackle, sparks of gold and blue flaring through it, illuminating the thick darkness like stars while the thin skin around Tony's jaw slowly started to rip apart.  
His skin crumbling to the ground like burned paper, revealing sharp and pointy teeth underneath it instead of muscles and flesh.

" _Petrified by the sight and sound of great despair... A Serpent abandoned its stars to illuminate the dark..._ "  
Loki continued, backing away from the Inventor in astonishment.

The sound of cracking bones and a shifting body echoed through the hall accompanied by the fleeting sounds of footsteps the people made while they were running for their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's actually another Chapter 13 in which Tony kills Thor. He literally acts like the Hulk in this and just "smashs" Thor into the next wall until he's nothing more but a heap of meat.
> 
> I decided to write the current version and post it instead because (even though I'm salty about Thor manhandling Tony) Thor didn't really deserve to die.  
> The other Avengers acted way worse towards Tony than him soooooo, yeah. No killing off Thor. At least for now. Maybe I change my mind. Who knows?


	15. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short music recommendation for this chapter. <3
> 
> While reading the battle part of this chapter you should definitely listen to SimBi J - Invincible the song is just badass.  
> For the rest of the chapter, I strongly advise you to listen to Promare Ost - Ashes its just such a damn lovely song <3

A disturbing sound filled the previously silent air caused by a huge, slender body moving silently and almost fluid-like over the cold ground.  
The black scales of the shifting body reflecting the dim light of the hall in millions of different colors, matching the stars on a clear night sky.  
Almost burning golden eyes were blazing through the darkness like the sun, a stark contrast to the deep bottomless black scales of the body they belonged to.  
A forked tongue savors the various scents while it slivers out of a giant mouth, flicking in and out between razor-sharp fangs which glistened like polished silver in the murky light.

Loki's breath stuttered in his lungs before he let it go, feeling the tension draining his body when the gigantic head of the serpent turned into his direction,  
its forked tongue hungrily taking in his scent as it moved closer to his face. Its huge tail had already begun to encircle him, keeping the god glued to the spot behind a wall of flesh and scales, leaving him without the possibility to flee.

The serpent ignored the screams of the fleeing people surrounding it, ignored how Odin gasped loudly or how Thor summoned Mjǫllnir back to his side, readying himself for a fight he foolishly believed he could win.  
Golden eyes remained fixated on Loki as if the Trickster was the only thing worth acknowledging, making the god shudder slightly under the intense gaze.

The crackling sound of thunder broke the silence, blue lightning marching its way towards the giant Serpent and Loki, illuminating the Hall into a bright nearly blinding light.

A swap of the Serpents tail protected Loki from the raging lightning, taking the attack head-on, a loud rolling thunder reverberated through the Hall when lightning collided with infinite, shifting black scales.  
It almost looked like the scales had consumed the attack, flaring in an ominously bright blue light before Thor's attack was reflected by them, sending the lightning strike right back into his direction.

"WHAT-"  
Was all Thor could manage to bring out before his own attack knocked him over, sending him flying into the next wall with a loud crumbling sound.

"Thor!"  
Odin roared, trying to get up onto his feet to come to his son's aid but failed miserably. His legs were still unsteady and shaking from the exhaustion, sending him straight back to the ground when he tried to lift himself up.

There was a loud groan coming from the wall which had now a Thor shaped hole in it, followed by the noise of a rather butchered looking Thunderer dragging his limp body out of said hole.

"You!"  
The Thunderer huffed out, blood spilling from his split lips.  
"You foul Monster! Loki! What have you done to Friend Stark?!"  
The god screamed in bewilderment, pointing his weapon yet again towards Loki.  
"Tell me what foul spell you used on him! He's clearly not himself anymore! End this scheme of yours at once, Loki!"

"I didn't do anything!"  
The Trickster snarled back, annoyance seeping into his voice.  
"Why is it always me who's at fault?! Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to use a spell on Anthony! Why is it so hard for you to believe that I for once am not the one to blame?!"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE EVIL BY NATURE!"  
Thor shouted back without a second thought.

Loki's brain stutters at that, every part of him goes on pause while Thor's words catch up to him. The Tricksters fingers starting to jump rhythmically at his sides, as if in spasm...  
And then, as if struck with ultimate truth, his legs begin to fold beneath him, making him subside to the ground, graceless and void of emotions.

"... Right. I'm just a Monster to you, nothing more nothing less..."  
There was hurt in Loki's voice, mixed with resignation and a trace of bitterness he had tried so hard to ignore over the years.  
"I was never good enough, wasn't I? Only of use when you and your friends needed a good laugh or somebody to mock..."

"That's not true Loki and you know it!"

"All you ever did was to look into my eyes and say whatever will hurt the most, knowing me as you do that isn't hard to come by..."  
Loki continued. His mind far away and lost to his dark thoughts.

"Am I less because I'm not the same kind as you? Am I less because I don't fancy strength over cleverness? Am I less because I want to be myself...? Is it that what you despise...?"  
He paused casting his gaze onto the ground as his eyes darkened. His voice sounded even more pained than before.

"No... You're not."  
A gentle voice snarled next to his face, only now did Loki recognized that the Serpent had moved closer to him, its gigantic head nuzzling his chest gently as if it was trying to pull the god out of the dark corners of his mind.  
"They might consider you lesser but you're so much more worth than any of them could ever fathom to be."

The Serpent turned, its tail dangerously looming in the air.  
"I believe it is time to end this pathetic game."  
It snarled, body swiftly lunging towards Thor, its gigantic head and fangs suddenly just mere inches away from the Thunderers face.

Thor backed away trying to bring himself as far away from the Serpents razor-sharp fangs as possible but its tail was faster than him,  
smashing the god into the ground with a loud thud. Odin used the opportunity to send the last remainings of his magic flaring into the Serpents direction, trying to hit its unguarded upper half with his remaining strength.

It was as if the Serpent had anticipated the attack, quickly relocating its tail away from Thor and lashing it directly into Odin's attack.  
The impact was strong, sending a shockwave throughout the Hall which forced Odin back onto his knees making him wince in pain whilst the Serpent didn't even blink an eye.

"So..."  
It eventually drawled lazily, its face looking as bored as a Serpents face could manage to look.  
"Are we done playing this rather tiresome game?"

"Game?!"  
Odin sneered.  
"Stop mocking me you filthy Monster! Who do you think you are to disrespect me?! Helping Loki to invade my realm and-"

"SILENCE!"  
The Serpent hissed, slamming its gigantic tail onto the ground next to Odin. The ground broke apart under the contact, the force of the impact pushing Odin a few feet away.

"How dare you! How dare you call this Realm your own in my presence!"  
The Serpent hissed angrily, its mouth wide open to reveal even more sharp fangs which were neatly pointing out of its jaw.  
"My brother's Realm never belonged to you, you foolish mortal god! It's your incompetence and pride that made him abandon this realm!"

Hot burning anger that sought to harm flared in the Serpents eyes,  
the air around it started to feel like a vexing of the soul. It was a twisted and distorted feeling like something overly terrifying and gruesome was about to happen.

"Stark!"  
Loki called, feeling that something grave was about to occur if he couldn't calm the Inventor down at once.

The Serpent continued to curse under his breath, obviously totally losing its temper.

"Stark you have to calm down!"  
He tried again, but it was in vain. The god's voice went unheard yet again.

"I will consume this corrupted realm, eradicate it from existence!"  
The Serpent hissed, fueling the fire that burned within it.  
"You are here simply because we decided so, but if you’re going to be disrespectful about it then you can go! Return to ash! I hardly care anymore!"

The Serpent lifted its tail and moved to smash it down onto the spot were Odin was located, clearly intending to end the Allfather's life.

"Stark, I'm begging you! You have to calm down!"  
Loki pleaded, horror written all over his face.  
Even though the Trickster hated Odin, he never really wanted to murder him.

The tail smashed down onto the ground, dust swirling up from the impact making it impossible for Loki to make out what had happened to Odin.

Loki felt the panic rising in his abdomen. Tension grew in his face and limbs, his mind replaying the last attack. His breathing became more rapid, more shallow then he realized that Odin might be dead.  
The thought was accelerating inside his head. Loki's breath started to come in gasps making him feel like he's about to faint.  
Heart hammering inside his chest like it belonged to a rabbit running for its skin. The room spined and left him no choice but to squat onto the floor, trying to calm somehow down.

A coughing sound, faint but still loud enough for Loki to hear rips him out of his rising panic. Forcing him to concentrate his eyes onto the slowly fading wall of dust and the silhouettes which slowly begin to take shape.

Just mere inches away from the gigantic hole on the ground sits Thor, looking like death himself and right next to him lays... Odin.  
The Thunderer had managed to push the Allfather out of the way, saving his life... At least temporarily.

"You dare to interfere with my judgment?"  
Snarled the Serpent, lifting its tail to attack again.

Loki rushed forward, knowing very well that Thor was way too exhausted to dodge the attack a second time, least had enough power to save Odin as well.

"Sta-"  
He started but then suddenly stopped midway, feeling something tug at his mind.

_'You won't be able to reach him like that, dear. His mind is too far gone... He has lost himself to the rage.'_

"Who-"  
Loki asked, his eyes frantically scanning the room, searching for the source of the gentle voice.

 _'Who I am is of no concern to you... What matters most is that you free my foolish brother from his rage._  
 _He won't listen to you in this form if you keep calling him by his mortal name. Only his true name will get through to him now and help you to stop this pathetic idiot before he does something he will regret for the rest of his endless life...'_  
The voice encouraged before fading away, leaving a trace of warmth in its wake.

Loki ran, his long, ebony-colored locks whipped back and forth behind him like a fiery tale as he flung himself in front of Thor and Odin, spreading his arms to both sides in a protecting manner as the Serpents tail was about to strike down again.

"Jǫrmungandr!"  
He yelled, hoping that the Serpent would finally recognize his voice.  
"Please, you have to stop! We're not here to harm, least kill them!"

The Serpent froze, its tail coming to a halt midair.

"Jǫrmungandr...?"  
Loki could hear Odin whisper the name behind his back, shock clearly audible in the Allfathers voice.  
"He... He's the Midgard Serpent?"  
The older man gasped, his demeanor suddenly cowed at the realization.

"...Loki?"  
Jǫrmungandr asked confused, the Serpents rage-filled eyes slowly but surely starting to change. The hatred in them gradually being replaced with something that resembled a deep and unwavering fondness.  
For a moment, it appeared as if the Serpent was looking at a whole different world, utterly lost in its wideness and virtue before the awareness sank in that it was nothing more but a dream.

Loki let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, the knowledge that Stark had seemingly snapped out of his rage crashing down on him like waves.

Jǫrmungandr backed down, guilt written over the gigantic Serpents face.

There was a sound familiar to the lovely sound of raindrops falling from the skies when black scales started to drop onto the ground in a steady and comforting rhythm,  
the disturbing sound of a gigantic body shifting back into its human form almost appearing considerably quiet in comparison.

"Lokes I'm-  
Tony tried but found himself unable to continue when Loki's body almost crashed into his own. The god's arms wrapped around him in a tight embrace, holding on for dear life.  
The Inventors hands hovered midair for a moment as if he was unsure about what to do before he placed them gently onto Loki's back to reciprocate the embrace.  
He nuzzled his head into the croak of Loki's neck, taking a deep breath to relish in the familiar scent he came to love more than he wanted to admit. Somehow he felt as if Loki's presence helped him to stay in the here and now.

"I'm sorry, Lokes."  
He mumbled, intentionally letting his lips grace over the Tricksters skin to savor not only his smell but also his taste.

The god shivered visibly at the contact, breaking the embrace abruptly and backing away from the Inventor as if he just caught himself doing something forbidden.

Tony wanted to reach out, to ask what was wrong but paused at the noise of shifting bodies.  
Even though something deep within him told him to keep his eyes fixated on Loki, and Loki alone he forced himself to draw his attention to the pathetic god's which had caused the sound.

His face started to morph into one of utter disgust and hatred at the sight, all the former warmth, and fondness suddenly gone.  
Tony stepped forward, his steps featherlight and silent on the destroyed ground.  
He came to a halt in front of the Allfather, towering dangerously above him. Eyes cold and calculating.

Thor shifted nervously next to Odin, uncertain about what to do.  
It almost seemed like he was contemplating to attack Tony again whilst he was back in his human form, but the Allfather swiftly put a hand on his shoulder stopping him from acting on his impulse.  
Now that Odin knew about Tony's true nature he understood that they would lose the fight against him, and most certainly their lives as well.

"... A wise decision."  
Tony remarked dryly, his eyes glistening ominously in the faint light.

"Fighting you would only lead to death, I can see that now."  
Odin huffed, his breaths still coming out raspy from the fight.  
"I might be powerful, but not powerful enough to defeat one of the nine immortal god's."

 _'Oh? Had I known that beating the shit out of this fool would lead to such an outcome, I would have done so millennia ago.'_  
Sleipnir remarked, his voice sounding rather pleased.

'You still can.'  
Tony said, knowing very well that it was just a lie he desperately had to tell himself over and over again to keep himself sane.

Sleipnir just chuckled and faded back into the depts of Tony's mind. There was no way he would engage himself in a conversation about ' **that'**.

"Well, I'm glad you came to that conclusion. I actually just came here to ask for a favor..."

"A favor?"  
Odin asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Yes, a favor. But... Given how rudely you welcomed us to my brother's Realm I'm not so sure about the 'asking' part anymore."  
Tony grinned maliciously, leaving no doubt that he wouldn't leave Odin any room for negotiations.

"Speak, then. What do you want from me? The sooner you tell me the faster you will be gone."  
The Allfather said, trying desperately to keep the anger out of his voice.

"It's rather simple actually."  
The smile on Tony's face indicating nothing good was about to follow.  
"I want your lot to keep the hell away from my realm, that also includes you and Point Break here.  
If I notice that someone from your Realm dares to set a foot on my Realm without my permission I will not only kill the intruder but also consume your Realms Seiðr entirely as an appropriate punishment,  
leaving it to die a slow and inevitable death. Oh, and before I forget it. Your little all-seeing spy is also forbidden from using his power on my Realm.  
I can sense it if he tries to take a closer look so don't even think about it. If you fail to keep him from looking, I'll make sure that he will never be able to see again."

Odin was thoughtful for a moment, certainly weighing his options before he came to the conclusion that there was none.

"Very well, I agree to your terms. Asgard will leave Midgard very well alone. We won't mangel into your business anymore. If that's all you want then you might-"

"Actually, that's not all."  
Tony intervened. If his grin was looking confident before it now looked outright smug and poised.

"Do tell."  
Odin sighed, knowing that he had no other choice but to listen to the man and accept whatever he demanded.

"Loki will stay at my side and is not to be harmed by your lot, nor are you allowed to lay a hand on him or try to imprison him again."

"Why would you demand to stay in the company of Loki, friend Stark? He's the enemy! Have you forgotten that he tried to kill us all?!"  
Thor yelled, very much to the dissatisfaction of Odin.

"Oh, that's rather easy to answer. Loki is a far better company than you and the other Avengers together and like I said before; I don't like it when other people touch my stuff.  
**Loki is mine** and therefore of limits. You better get that in your thick and obviously very hollow head or else you'll have a rather uncomfortable reunion with that wall I smashed you into."  
The way Tony said it left no doubt that Thor wouldn't survive his reunion with the wall if it really came down to it.

"You shall have him, he's lost his worth to me a long time ago."  
Odin said void of emotion, not even looking at the Trickster as he did.

At that, Loki visibly flinched, his eyes suspiciously glistening in the light.  
Tony noticed right away that the god was about to shed tears, his body language literally screaming that the Trickster had been deeply hurt by the uncaring words of the man he formerly called his father.

"Well, you're certainly a coward to think that. He's so much more worth than any of those ancient treasures you collected. Even more worth than your sorry life."  
He reached out for Loki, pulling him into a tight embrace.  
"How pathetic that you will never be able to fathom his true potential."

Tony's magic started to engulf them as soon as the words were spoken.  
Within nothing more than a passing moment they were gone, fading into nothingness, leaving a rather confused looking Thor and a fuming Odin behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact? Originally, I planned to end this story around 20k words and now I realize what a huge (and foolish) understatement that was.  
> Also: This turned out to be the longest chapter so far. 
> 
> Thanks again for all the kudos and comments. <3 You guys really keep me going. 
> 
> Ps. The voice talking to Loki belongs to Skaði, just in case someone didn't get it. :)


	16. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for updating so late.  
> My Grandma got diagnosed with cancer a few months ago and the last six weeks were especially hard since she was in great pain and the Doctors couldn't do much for her.  
> Therefore, continuing to write this story while she was ill was out of the question for me, that's the reason for the delay and why the new chapter is rather short.
> 
> I promise the next chapters will be longer again and up on a regular basis from now on, just like before. :)

Loki's eyes shifted to the side, glazed with a glossy layer of tears. He bit his bottom lip tightly in an attempt to hide any sound that might want to escape from his mouth;  
Scared that Odin and Thor would notice that Anthony and himself weren't gone but rather just invisible to their eyes.

"Don't worry..." Tony whispered, pulling the god into a tight embrace.  
"It's okay to speak if you want to, Lokes. The spell camouflages our presence entirely, there's no one out there with the capacity to see past it."  
He said reassuringly while his hands began to run softly up and down the god's spine.

The god nodded stiffly, his entire body going slack in Tony's arms. Loki's mind buzzed like an electrical circuit struck by lightning, his reddened lips a stark contrast to his chalk-white face.  
"They..." Loki started but was cut off by Odin's rage-filled screams.

"I knew it! I knew it from the very day I brought this rotten Monster to my realm!  
I was a fool to believe him useful to me. I should have tossed him into Mimir's bottomless well after I killed his kind, or better yet throw a rock on his head! I had the mercy to let this hideous creature live in a gilded cage,  
and yet he dares to cross me!"  
The Allfather snarled in disgust.

"Father, please calm down... Loki has indeed wronged us but he is still a part of our family. He has to pay for his crimes, but not with his life."  
Thor said, trying to calm his Father down.

"Don't be foolish, Son! I never saw this ghastly creature as more than a simple tool to strengthen my reign! He lost his worth to me the moment he found out about his true heritage.  
Why else should I have chosen to let him fall to his death? I could have saved Loki if I wanted to, but I decided to deny him the words he so desperately wanted to hear from me, knowing very well it would break him apart...  
Unfortunately, that wasn't enough. That foul creature managed to survive the void and dared to show his face again just so the Norns could mock me even further."

Tony watched Odin's outburst silently, a small smile creeping over his face at the realization that Odin would play him into his hands just as he had planned.

 _'How long do you plan to let him suffer?'_  
Sleipnir asked poisonously, his normally calm and collected demeanor gone at the sight of the Allfather's disgusting behavior.

Tony didn't answer right away, letting his gaze drift to Loki's eyes for a moment instead. The god's beautiful green orbs were glistening in the dim light, exposing that tears had been running down his cheeks for a while now.

'Tell me, Sleipnir; Does the truth imprison us, or does it set us free?' Tony asked in a tone that indicated that he wasn't really asking a question.  
'The truth can hurt, and sometimes you have to face it head-on. Even if it's ugly, sad, or leaves you devastated. You can't move on when you're stuck in a world full of lies...  
I know he's suffering but I had no other choice. He had to see and hear it for himself...  
People can grow strong enough to whisper at the iron bars that hold them and see them bend out of their way like it was some sort of magnificent magic. But they can't free themselves if they don't have the will to do so...'

 _'What makes you think that he is unwilling to free himself?'_  
Sleipnir asked curiously, his presence radiating confusion.

'He stopped me when I was about to kill Odin.'  
Tony simply said, utterly void of emotions.  
'Even after everything Odin did to Loki, he still tried to save him. Odin lied to him his entire life yet, Loki still believes that there must be something in that stupid dicks heart that is worth saving...  
As long as he thinks like that, he won't be able to free himself from the gilded cage his so-called father put him in.'

 _'I see...'_  
Sleipnir mumbled absentmindedly.  
 _' **The others** said you're keeping the Trickster around because he reminds you of yourself... I couldn't understand why they would make an assumption like that...'_

'Let me guess? Now you can?'  
Tony asked, chuckling darkly.

_'No... That's not it. It's just... I have wondered for a while now; Isn't it more like you are seeing us in him rather than yourself?'_

Tony went silent at that, not answering his brother who was still present in his mind and waiting for an answer he was certain he would likely never gain.

'Sometimes... Sometimes I wish I would have realized it sooner...'  
Tony decided to answer much to Sleipnirs surprise.  
'I thought it was enough to understand the concept of love but...'  
He stopped, not knowing how he was supposed to continue.

 _'... But you were wrong.'_  
Sleipnir said in a calm and sad sounding voice before disappearing back into the depths of Tony's conscience.

Tony turned his attention back to the Trickster who was currently mumbling under his breath, the god's eyes lifeless and broken.

"He fed me lie, after lie, after lie... He did it in such a way as if I were sitting in front of him, holding out a dinner plate begging to be fed.  
All I wanted was to please him, to be worthy of his attention, and he took full advantage of that, knowing very well I would believe every word from his mouth willingly...  
I even defended him though he never showed mercy towards me for as long as I can remember..."  
Loki started to sob in Tony's arms, his mind sent reeling, utterly unable to comprehend or process the images he was being sent by his eyes.  
He turned his gaze away from Odin, then looked back to see if the snarling and raging god was still there, only to realize with a sinking heart that he was, indeed, still there.

Tony's grip on the god loosened then, one of his hands cupping Loki's cheeks so he could turn the god's face to look up at him.  
"I can't undo the things he did to you, nor can I change the past but..."  
He started to move his face closer to the Trickster's face, his whispered words faintly ghosting over Loki's skin while his thumb stroked gently over the god's tearstained skin.  
"But If you let me, I can make him pay for the way he treated you. Let me be the fire of your rage, an all-consuming flame that burns hot and never dies.  
If you let me... You will walk over the cold ashes of your enemies and I'll be by right next to your side for as long as you wish for."

"But..."  
Loki hesitated, turning his gaze away from Tony. He stared at Odin who was currently commenting Thor to get him the dwarves so that they could forge him a new weapon, one that could withstand and kill the Serpent.  
'So he lied about that, too...'  
Loki thought bitterly, realizing that were was no hope for the man he formerly called his father.

He turned his gaze back to Tony, searching the Merchant's eyes in order to find the hidden lie, but there was none. Just truth mixed with kindness and a deep fondness he never imagined to ever see directed at himself.  
Loki couldn't help but smile in the same fond way Tony was looking at him, realizing that he was falling even stronger for the man than before.

"Be my flame, then."


	17. Chapter 16

"I won't lie, this is going to be really ugly."  
Tony chuckled darkly, his eyes glistening in the same ominous color as his Serpent form. The malicious intent in the air was almost unbearable, making it hard for Loki to breath properly.

With a snap of his fingers, the air was suddenly rent by the sound of breaking glass, the spell which kept them invisible vanishing as quickly as it had made them disappear.  
Loki wondered if the sound of breaking glass was intentionally made by Anthony, given that the Allfather's and Thor's attention was instantly cast at them, an immediate fear ghosting over their faces.  
Seeing their faces, Loki was almost certain that the sound had indeed been caused on purpose. After all; The sound of breaking glass seldom means anything good.

"You! You should be gone!"  
Odin backed away, bringing a certain distance between Tony and himself.

"Well..."  
Tony drawled rather unfaced, looking at one of his hands as if the dirt under his nails were a lot more interesting than the Allfather could ever fathom to be.  
"And you should be all nice and behaving, instead you're already ordering a new weapon to get rid of me. I don't see the reason why you should feel surprised to see me?  
I'm fairly certain I told you what will happen if you choose to betray the benevolent I, so merciful, showed you."

Odin visibly flinched away, his mouth wide agape.  
"You- How can you know that?!"

"Is that really the question you should concern yourself with right now?"  
Tony asked mockingly, not looking up from his hand as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"Friend Tony, you're mistaken! Father didn't plan to-"  
Thor tried but was cut off immediately.

"Thor, bring the dwarves and order them to forge me a new weapon, one that will be able to withstand and kill this filthy Serpent..."  
Tony cited Odin's words in a cold voice, his eyes darting up to stare poisonously at Thor.  
"Weren't that your Father's exact words? Tell me, Thor, where exactly am I mistaken? Did another Serpent suddenly popped out of nowhere and threatened your realm in the short time in which Loki and I weren't here?"

"No I- That wasn't what I wanted to-"

"Then, don't."  
Tony snarled, voice firm and filled with unbelievable killing intent.

"But friend Tony! Don't you see that Loki is manipulating you? You aren't yourself! You are the Man of Iron - you're supposed to be good!"

Loki flinched at the mention of his name, backing away so his body was almost squished to the wall behind him.

There was a swift movement, so fast it almost seemed formless and indistinct, like a shadow shifting.  
Followed by the loose and wet sound of someone coughing up an immense amount of blood.

"Don't you dare tell me what I am supposed to be, Thor."  
Tony said, aiming another hit straight into the Thunderer's face sending him flying unceremoniously to the ground.  
"I was there when the _Mistress of Death_ received her first gift from _Life_ itself and I will be there when she receives her last. I am far older than anything you could fathom. I am neither evil nor good, and certainly above such silly concepts."

Tony strode forward to where Thor was laying in a heap on the ground, a dangerous smile creeping over his face when he came to a stop in front of the Thunderer who currently lay in a puddle of his own vomited blood and bile.  
He regarded the beaten god for a while before he slightly leaned down to him, hands folded behind his back and a malicious smile plastered on his face.

"If I were you, I wouldn't try to stand up again, Thor. I have no desire to kill you... At least not yet. I could change my mind, though if you decide to ever badmouth Loki in front of me again."  
He said lightly as if he weren't just threatening to kill the god if he misbehaves again.

"You on the other hand..."  
Tony turned, his gaze wandering over to where Odin was standing.  
"You will plead for the sweet salvation of death after I'm done with you."

"Don't you dare underestimate-"

"Underestimate, what?"  
Tony asked, his hand suddenly firmly placed around Odin's throat.  
His movements, like before, too fast for the present eyes to follow.  
"Are you referring to your great power as the Allfather? To be honest, your skills didn't impress me the first time and I doubt they will do now. You are nothing but an annoying little fly to me."

As the full realization, and the consequence of his earlier misdemeanor's, finally sank in, Odin's stomach stirred, knowing very well that the Serpent was right.  
From out of the very depths of his being, he knew that he couldn't defeat the Serpent, at least not in a fair battle but... If he would hit the seemingly only weakness of the Monster, maybe then he could turn the cards to his favor.

Not thinking twice, Odin lifted his arm, channeling his magic into his palm to create a blazing orb of fire, knowing very well that the impact and the flames would most likely kill Loki; The temporary only weakness the Serpent seemed to have in his eyes.

"... Stupid idea."  
Was all Odin could hear before a searing pain struck through his body like lightning. The next thing he noticed was crimson red that colored the whole ground and...  
And his own arm laying seamlessly cut off in a puddle of blood. Odin's face morphed into a grimace, skin tuning pale and clammy while screams of agony started to fill the silence of the hall.  
It had a raw quality, the realness of a person consumed by a pain that knew no end or limit. It took a while before he went quiet, just panting, trying to desperately fill his lungs with air since the unimaginable pain had almost made him forget to breathe.

"Kind of an overreaction from your side, don't you think? That was only one of your arms... Nothing compared to that will follow next."  
Tony laughed. It was a cruel and mocking laugh. One that implied a finality the Allfather never had witnessed before.

"Friend Tony! I beg you! Stop this madness! There is nothing you could gain from this!"  
Thor screeched, tears starting to well up in his eyes.

"Of course there is nothing to gain from this, I already have the one thing I wanted. This here... This is simply a bonus. And now, do me a favor and shut your stupid mouth. I'm getting tired of your pointless blabbering."

"But-"

"Shut it, Thor. Or else I'm going to rip your fuckin' eyes out of your mostly empty skull!"  
Tony sneered.  
"I don't care what you think of me. Obey or die, that's your current situation. You should better use the few brain cells you've got left and keep whatever you want to say to yourself."

With a creepy smile on his lips, Tony turned his attention back to the panting god on the ground in front of him. Looking at him with a gaze full of excitement.  
"... Now back to you."

"L- Loki!"  
Odin stammered, turning his face pleadingly into the direction of the Trickster.  
"You- You have to stop him! Don't let him kill your own father!"

"Oh, please. Are you really pulling the 'I am your father' card right now? You are way more pathetic than I originally thought."  
Tony laughed while shaking his head in disbelieve.

Odin ignored him, his attention fully centered on Loki.  
"Loki, please! What would your mother say could she see you like this? Just standing by while a hideous Monster kills your father! It would break her heart were she still alive!"

"You are right..."  
Loki started, in a voice which let Odin feel relieved for a short amount of time, at least until Loki started to continue.  
"You are right about Mother, she would certainly feel crestfallen... Seeing how you tried to kill me only to save your own pathetic life..."  
The Trickster said in a small voice, just loud enough to be heard.

"I always wondered... How quickly your love turned to hate as if you didn't even fight it. Now I know that there wasn't anything you needed to fight, am I right?  
Because you never felt anything else towards me but hate. How stupid of me to think I could gain your love if I proved myself worthy again...  
All that wasted time I fought to keep myself empathic even after all the terrible things you did to me... It was all for nothing."

"If you can't do it for me, then do it for your mother! She would never forgive you if you-"

"Don't!"  
Loki yelled, stoping Odin from whatever nonsense he was about to say.  
"Don't you dare use Mother as a pathetic attempt to save your life! She was the only one who loved me truly and without conditions. And I am sure she still does, even in death.  
Whatever happens to you... I know she will forgive me."

"You can't-"  
Odin screeched, panic filling his voice at the realization that Loki wouldn't save him.

"Didn't you said it yourself? I'm a hideous Monster... Nothing more. It's only natural then, to act like one. Don't you think so?"  
Loki smiled bitterly, turning his gaze away from the Allfather.

"You see..."  
Tony chuckled, his magic slowly starting to engulf him.  
"That's how it feels to get abandoned."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kind comments regarding my Grandmother, they really cheered me up greatly.  
> Hopefully, all of you enjoyed the new chapter and I'll see you around when the next one is up. :)


	18. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not really good at writing gore so I'm not certain if I should actually warn people about this chapter?  
> Well, just to be save on this; This chapter contains a lot of blood, randomly severed body parts, and a few corpses I really needed for reasons I don't really know myself.  
> If you don't like the stuff mentioned above, please skip this chapter.  
> I can give you a summary if you decide to skip this chapter, just let me know in the comments. :)

The great hall had become eerily silent for a while now. The screams and pleads that had filled it for hours had subsided at one point and were replaced by sobs,  
heavy panting and the occasional coughing sounds of a god that pleaded to be finally killed by the hands of his torturer.

His pleas went unheard, just like the pleads of his guards which had unexpectedly stormed into the hall.  
Their throats had been cut, heads smashed in, and their bodies lay like butchered animals in a waste of blood, filling the air with the scent of drying blood.  
Asgards former great hall, now Tony's very own slaughterhouse.

The scene before Loki was gruesome at best:  
One corpse had slipped from the stairs right next to the door and lay there staring up at Loki, the mouth open, the head almost cleft from the body.  
Severed vessels, sticking like corrugated pipes through the clotted blood. Another corpse was propped, ungainly as a rag doll, against the Throne at the far back of the hall.  
His head had drooped forward and over his chest, a great mat of blood covering the dead body and in the midst of it all stood Anthony; Smiling.

"...On Midgard, there is a certain tale about the most horrifying thing you did to Loki."  
Tony drawled, looking down onto the intestines spewed onto the floor in pinkish-brown coils.

"Loki was taken, in his regular form, to a cave as a punishment for causing Baldur's death. The gods then brought in Loki’s two sons and turned one into a wolf, who promptly killed his brother,  
strewing his entrails across the cave floor. Loki was then fastened to three rocks in the cave with the entrails of his slain son, which the gods had turned into iron chains..."

Tony turned, his gaze unceremoniously wandering around the hall.

"Skadi, my sister, placed a poisonous snake on a rock above his head, where it dripped venom onto his face. But Loki’s faithful wife, Sigyn, sat by his side with a bowl that she held up to the snake’s mouth to catch the poison.  
But every so often, the bowl became full, and Sigyn would have to leave her husband’s side to dispose of its contents, at which point the drops that fell onto the unrepentant god’s face would burn his skin and torn the flesh and muscles underneath apart, leaving him to scream in agony..."

Loki visibly winced, obviously hearing that awful and cruel story for the first time.

"Of course that story holds no truth. It's just some old Lore someone eventually came up with to spook their children into obedience yet, I always thought that the cruelness you showed in this story was actually very befitting for you."

Tony laughed, his eyes glistening with eerie entertainment.  
He leaned down to cast an inspecting look onto his work, obviously pleased with himself.

Loki, on the other hand, had seen a lot of gruesome things in his long life.  
But this... This was something entirely different and he just couldn't bring himself to feel as excited as Anthony felt.

It wasn't the way Odin's skin had been burnt by Anthony's poison or the way it had almost been burnt off entirely... It was the horrible smell that let his stomach stir in discomfort.  
The sickening smell of metal and burned flesh blanketing the air in a choking aroma.  
What was once covered by skin had wilted and cracked under the ferocity of the flames, turning even bones to ash and dust.

Odin's heart had been cleaved from the body. The arteries still intact so they wouldn't drain off their life fluid, stuck out like they always belonged there.  
The skin of his Torso had been peeled back and pinned with iron nails, haphazardly banged in the concrete of the wall by Anthony's mere hands.  
His ribcage had been cracked and pried wide open, the whiteness of the bone shone out in the sea of burnt flesh. The rest of his body was now the greyish color of a cadaver, smeared with blood and leftovers from his entrails...  
At least that what Anthony had left of his lower body.

Anthony hadn't lied when he said that one cut off arm had only been the beginning of a series of even more gruesome procedures.

He had started to cut off Odin's legs right after he had severed Odin's arm. The veins and arteries had spouted up such a prodigious quantity of blood, and so high into the air,  
that it had covered Tony's body a whole. Loki winced when the severed legs fell on the cold stone floor, causing a horrible sound that reverberated like an echo throughout the hall.

"P- Plse... 'ill me... I- I bg... ou."  
Odin spluttered weakly, blood running from his mouth like waterfalls.

"After all the hard work I invested to keep you alive? I don't think so."  
Tony said, glancing down at Odin as if he were a rug out of place, tutting at the blood that poured out of his abdomen onto the cold stone floor.

"After all, I don't just want to kill you. I want you to suffer, to hear the suffocation of your cries. I want to know the second you don’t exist anymore so I can bring you back to life just so you have to suffer my torture anew."

It was unnerving to see the eyes of a snake glaring from a human head in such an excited and almost happy looking way, Loki thought for the first time since he knew who Anthony really was.

"-oki... Lo...ki..."

"Loki! You have to make him stop, please!"  
Thor begged, helplessly watching how his Father was suffering before his eyes.

"Why should I?"  
Loki asked, his gaze looking right through the Thunderer as if he wasn't really there.  
"He had the chance to save himself... Instead, he took what was beautiful in me and made it into what it is today. I feel no remorse for him."  
The Trickster said running a pale hand through his thick hair, his thin lips turning upwards into a smile when he walked over to where Anthony was standing.

"I believe it is time to go, Anthony."  
He drawled the smile on his lips a happy and content one.

For a moment, there was something like relief ghosting over Odin's face, a motion Tony caught on immediately.

"Don't assume this is over just because we're leaving."  
Tony chuckled darkly, a sudden wave of his magic crashing down onto the Allfather.

"This spell will keep you alive for as long as I exist. It will keep you from healing and won't allow anyone to touch or move you from this place.  
You will stay in this sorry state for all eternity, suffering the same pain over and over again. And even if you plead for the _Mistress of Death_ to finally take you to her realm, she won't hear your call.  
For the _Mistress of Death_ would never dare to cross me."  
Tony said in a low voice before he went over to Loki's side, tugging him into a firm embrace.

"This is farewell, Odin. I hope you will enjoy eternity without us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone else noticed how suspiciously often I mentioned the Mistress of Death?   
> I even used italic whenever I wrote about her.  
> I really wonder what that could mean...


	19. Chapter 18

"We need to find him!"  
Steve yelled in anger, pacing through the small room like a caged animal.

It had been there a while now - the anger. Escaping when he was away from the others or they weren't looking.  
He hadn't felt that angry in years and somehow it made him feel even worse now that had thought that everything had seemed to fall right back into place;  
Bucky was back and therefore his connection to the past. Everything should feel fine and complete now, but somehow they didn't and that was the reason why he felt so angry.

The truth was; Bucky wasn't the same as before. Hardly remembered the past or more precisely not really eager to do so.  
Steve couldn't understand why the man felt so guilty, after all, Hydra had just used him against his will; There was nothing to feel guilty about.

Steve had told him to let it go that night, to not think about it anymore and to look forward to the future. He knew the problem lay in Bucky himself and that he just needed to change for the better.  
If he would just let it all go, he could be the man he used to be; Steve's friend.

Bucky had looked at him as if he had grown a second head. His face had morphed into something that oddly resembled disgust but to Steve's surprise, there was mostly disappointment hidden beneath the surface of said disgust.  
He had left Steve alone then, leaving him to his thoughts which had started to get even more consumed by the anger he felt.

Lost in his own thoughts for hours, Steve hadn't even realized that Bucky had never returned back to their apartment that night.

"You don't have to yell, you know? We heard you just fine the other twenty times you told us that."  
Clint sneered.  
"He's probably just fed up with this shitty one-room apartment and decided to get some fresh air. A thing we should do as well. I bet someone died in here not too long ago. It smells like shit in here and I hate it."

Clint's mood had been sore since they had been kicked out of Wakanda.  
They had to rent a small apartment in the middle of nowhere and Steve had decided that they weren't allowed to go outside, at least not during the day - The chance to get recognized, even in the middle of nowhere, were just too high for them to take.

The Archer, though, wasn't the only one in a foul mood.

While Natascha, Wanda, and Sam were acting relatively normal,  
Scott hadn't talked to any of them since they had left Wakanda.  
Steve had tried to talk to him a few times to ask what was bothering him but Scott hadn't answered and kept ignoring him, even now the man was sitting as far away from the others and Steve as possible, doing his best to not engage into the conversation.

"What makes you even think he won't return? Why that urgent need to go look for him?"  
Natascha asked calculating.  
"Clint could be right. Maybe he really just needed some fresh air. After all, he wasn't very sociable, to begin with. Or do you have a suspicion he could have left because of something else?"

Steve halted then, looking unsure for a moment.  
He had to be careful with his words. It had taken him long enough to gain their trust again after the thing with the surveillance footage of what happened in Siberia.  
Thankfully, it was rather uncomplicated to convince Sam, Wanda, and Clint but Natascha... Well, he wasn't certain if he really managed to convince her or if she was just playing along after waging her options.

"You guys fought, didn't you?"  
Natascha deadpanned without missing a beat, not even bothering to look up from whatever she was doing.

"We didn't... It just that Bucky is still a bit confused about certain things and I fear that he might be lost or maybe frightened to return to us because he fears that he might hurt us, that's all.  
I'm sure he must be around-"

At that, Scott started to snort rather loudly, interrupting whatever Steve was about to say.

"Is there a problem Scott?"  
Steve asked, feeling irritated by Scott's rather rude behavior.

"Nah. I'm just amazed at how delusional you are."  
He chuckled, looking at Steve as if the man had said the most ridiculous thing in the world.

"What are you talking about?"  
Steve asked confused.

"Oh, don't pretend you don't know, Steve. He was acting strange since we left Wakanda and I can't blame him for that. I mean; If it's hard for me, an outsider who barely knows you, to realize what a huge dick you really are, I can't even imagine how Bucky must feel given that he knows you since you guys were little kids."

For a moment, Steve looked rather dumbfounded before he managed to realize what exactly Scott had just said to him.

"Watch your language, Scott!"  
Steve sneered, taking a few strides towards the smaller men just end up in his personal space.  
"You don't know what you're talking about!"

"Oh? I don't?"  
Scott chuckled amused, meeting Steve's eyes.  
"He was fed up with you, Steve! Because he realized what a man you really are; You're a selfish liar, someone who pulls others down with him rather than to save them. Even now you're lying to us and pretend to be clueless even though you know very well what's going on with Bucky!"

"What is that supposed to mean?"  
Natascha asked, stepping between the two men to keep them at a certain distance so they wouldn't end up fighting.

"Yeah, Steve. What's Scott talking about?"  
Clint chimed in, concern ghosting over his moody face when he joined Natascha's side.

"I don't know! He's probably just making things up! I never lied to you guys!"  
Steve yelled, burning rage hissed through his body like a deathly poison, screeching a demanded release in the form of unwanted violence. It took everything from him to not just lash out at Scott.

Scott, on the other hand, seemed rather unfazed by the Soldier's outburst.  
"Like, you never lied about Stark's parents, or that you left Stark to die in Siberia?"  
He asked with a cold voice.

"I would never have joined you, had I known how far you would go to get your precious Bucky back. You said Stark was the dangerous one, that he was the one acting unpredictable and bringing others into dangerous situations without thinking twice... But in reality, you are the one who's better not to be trusted!"  
Scott continued, not caring about the fact that Steve could lash out at him any moment and easily send him to his early grave.

"Are we really talking about Stark now?"  
Wanda asked, annoyance written all over her face at the mentioning of the Inventor's name.  
"I mean, that murderer is probably dead, anyway."

"You know, Steve? I was there when Bucky talked to you. I heard everything."  
Scott said, not bothering to acknowledge Wanda in any way.

Suddenly, Steve's face went very pale, as if all the lifeforce within him had been slowly drained away from his body.  
He took a few steps away from Scott, his hands balling into fists at his side.

Scott cast a cold smile towards Steve before he started to fumble something out of his jacket. It was a small black device, almost looking like a flash drive. He held it up for Steve and the other's to see as if it was some sort of trophy.

"A voice recorder?"  
Natascha said warily while she mused the small device in Scott's hand.

"Yes, it is exactly that."  
Scott said matter of factly.

"Where did you get it? It looks different from the ones I'm used to."  
Natascha asked curiously.

"Shuri gave it to me before we left Wakanda... Said It will probably of use to me. Well, she was right."

"Scott... You wouldn't-"  
Steve started to stammer but was cut off by his own voice playing from the small device in Scott's hand;

_"...You can't leave! Not after I finally found you! You don't have to feel guilty about it. He attacked us first! Why do you even bother about him?"_

There was some rustling before a second, rather sad sounding voice started to speak.

_"We left him there to die, Steve! You smashed your Shield into his chest like he was just some rag doll! How am I supposed to ignore that and don't feel guilty about it?! We're talking about Howards son, damn it! Are you even listening to yourself?!"_

It was undoubtedly Bucky's voice which played from the small device, sounding small and so very fragile.

_"Tony is the biggest liar and actor I've ever met, Bucky. He's probably doing just fine and already plotting how he can worsen our reputation even further._   
_It's his fault we had to leave Wakanda! Just a big man in a suit of armor who likes to play a hero. Take that away and he is nothing. He doesn't deserve your pity, trust me!"_

_"How can you say this, Steve? I thought you were friends? How can you do such a cruel thing to a friend and justify it just like that?"_

_"... I never really saw Stark as a friend. He was just a Teammate, someone I had to endure in order to find you, Bucky. I needed his resources to track you down and it worked, that's all that matters!_   
_As soon as we're back home we will get rid of Stark and then we can continue to protect the people in danger just like we did before."_

There was an awfully long silence before it was broken by a long and resigned sigh.

_"Since we left Wakanda I find myself thinking about what happened a lot..."_

By now Bucky's voice trembled and sounded even sadder than before.

_"The truth is, If I were to see you in trouble I just don't know if I'd help you, Steve. I imagine you dangling from a high-rise tower and the only thing between you and certain death is my outstretched hand I... I look at you and I see a stranger._   
_It's like you are an entirely different person from the one I knew before. Or maybe... Maybe the Steve I remembered was a lie all along? I just don't know. Maybe you were exactly as today but I refused to see it. Perhaps I just closed my eyes whenever I saw the real you and pretended to be blind... Who knows?"_

A soft sob was heard, followed by the sound of steps.

_"I know I should feel happy that you came for me but... After you tracked me down you took me with you as if I were just some prize you had won. And if that wasn't enough you betrayed Stark and made him miserable, stealing every ounce of friendship he ever felt towards you away from him. I cared for you, Steve. I really did. But... I can't stay with you anymore. The things you did but mostly the things you said... They are awful, cruel, and so unbelievable selfish it makes my stomach stir with a feeling I don't want to investigate further because I have to fear that If I do, I could end up doing something stupid I would surely regret."_

_"Bucky you can't just-"_

_"Don't Steve... Just don't, okay?"_

The record ended abruptly then, the last thing audible before it went off was the sound of a closing door.

Everyone in the room stayed silent for a while before Wanda decided to break the silence.  
"So, he left because of Stark?"  
She asked confused.

"Is this some kind of joke? Stark tried to kill him. I don't see why he should feel guilty about defending himself. It's not like Stark possesses a heart in the first place. I doubt that shithead is even able to feel hurt.  
That man is barely a decent human being, to begin with. And after all, I doubt any of us ever saw more in Stark than his money. As for me, I feel the same way as Steve. Stark's stuff is cool and all that but that's all."  
Clint added without hesitation.

"Besides, Steve already told us that Stark was alive when they left. Bucky makes it sound like Steve is some fucking murderer. I mean, we all know who's called the Merchant of Death - it's certainly not Steve."  
Sam added.

"... Are you guys serious? He admitted that he never cared about Stark and you guys are totally fine with that?!"  
Scott screeched in disbelieve.

"I know it seems like I am the bad one here, but I assure you that I am not, Scott. All I did was to try and keep you guys and Bucky save. You have to believe me."  
Steve tried, knowing very well that Scott was about to lose it.

"You want me to believe you?! After all, you did?"  
Scott would have laughed if he didn't know too well that Steve seriously meant that he just said.

"Please calm down, Scott. If you would just listen to me-"  
Steve tried but was interrupted by the sound of a cellphone vibrating. He turned into the direction of the sound, seeing Natascha staring down at the display of her cellphone.  
Her face was blank, almost as if she had seen a ghost.

"Natascha? Something wrong?"  
He asked but got no answer from her.

Clint who was still standing next to her made the same face, but instead of getting pale his face started to be filled with the color of crimson red.

"What is it?"  
Wanda asked concerned but was ignored by them just like they had ignored Steve.

"Guys!"  
Steve yelled, anticipation uncomfortably rising in his gut.  
Whatever made his two Teammates speechless had to be really bad.  
Maybe the World was in danger again? Then why hadn't they been informed sooner? They could help!

"...This dirty son of a bitch!"  
Clint suddenly started to yell before he stormed out of the apartment.

Steve couldn't take it anymore and went over to where Natascha was staying, looking down at the display of her cellphone just like Clint had done.

It was some sort of digital newspaper he was looking at and for a moment, he could have sworn he felt how the blood in his veins had started to freeze.  
He stared down at the picture of two familiar men.  
One slender and gracefully looking, while the other one was smeared with blood and looked like he was about to collapse if the other one wouldn't keep supporting him with one of his arms around his waist.

Scott, who had enough of yelling at Steve and getting ignored had come closer too, to see that had finally managed to shut Steve the fuck up.

He took a glimpse at the headline above the shown picture and couldn't help but start laughing;

**'Back from the dead - Tony Stark saved by Loki, our new favorite Villian!'**

"What the hell?"  
Steve mumbled in disbelief, looking down at the headline as if it were some sort of bad joke.

"Language, Steve."  
Was all Scott said with a smile before he left the apartment as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Scott is out of character but I can't bring myself to actually hate him. Sure, it was stupid of him to help Steve without questioning him  
> but he's not nearly enough of an asshole to get actually killed just for that. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the new chapter. I know we didn't get to see our favorite couple this time but unfortunately, I have to write about the other idiots from time to time  
> to get the story going. :)


	20. Chapter 19

"Of course, they are late."  
She mumbled, sounding mildly annoyed.

"He's always late. I had expected at least Loki would keep an eye on the time... After all, he made the impression of being a punctual person. Well, it seems that was just a huge miscalculation on my part..."  
FRIDAY sighed, more to herself than anyone in particular. DUM-E and the others were there, sure, but she was more than certain that they weren't interested in listening to her complains given that they were currently making a huge mess in the workshop.  
They had been chasing each other around for a while now, leaving a trace of destruction in their wake but FRIDAY mused it was useless to stop them.  
"He wouldn't give them away to a college anyways..."  
She mumbled amused even though she was still a little bit angry at her Inventor and Loki.

"I hope the two of them will appreciate my efforts."

It wa Thankfully, FRIDAY had a bad feeling about Loki and Tony not being able to be on time for the press conference from the very beginning.  
Something just told her she should make sure to watch Pepper's press conference through to the end, just in case her concern was proved to be justified. 

Naturally, the foreboding feeling and her concerns were indeed proved right when Pepper had finished her speech and neither Tony nor Loki had shown up to surprise the audience.  
It was rather clear, then that FRIDAY had to take matters into her own hands - metaphorical speaking. 

Good thing she had come up with a rather simple plan beforehand;  
She just had to fly Tony's still rather damaged and blood-smeared Mark XLVI to the press conference and create a deceptively real-looking hologram of a rather concerned and helpful looking Loki to make it work out - A piece of cake, given her abilities. 

She had even come up with a rather impressing story as to why Loki was the one who had saved Tony and why the former villain wouldn't be a threat anymore.  
Sure, the explanation was all drama and a lot like one of these awful soaps Tony liked to watch nonstop after he found himself unable to sleep but in the end, it worked out just fine.  
The only thing she felt rather concerned about was the way Tony and Loki would react after finding out that Loki, or rather his hologram, had proclaimed to the press that he was madly in love with the Inventor and therefore,  
saw no other choice but to save the man from his certain death with his magic. 

Even though it was hilarious; The people believed the story. Well, most of them. There were still people who had their doubts, but honestly? Could you blame them?  
If someone had tried to sell FRIDAY that story she would have probably turned around and just leave yet, the few people who still didn't trust Loki seemed to feel too relieved at Stark's safe return that it somehow outweighed their doubts, at least for the time being.

Pepper, on the other hand, Pepper was very, very pissed, not amused, and certainly not convinced. 

Of course, the women had seen right through FRIDAYS charade and demanded answers from her. It had taken FRIDAY almost one hour to calm her down and two more to explain the whole situation to her before the women finally decided to leave (a rather irritated and angry feeling) FRIDAY very well alone. 

It wasn't like FRIDAY was glad that Pepper was gone, or that she didn't like the women, it was more that she never felt particularly close to her, to begin with, and therefore didn't miss her as much as Tony did. 

Maybe, if FRIDAY was more honest to herself she could eventually admit that she was feeling somehow envious towards Pepper.  
The woman had a way of expressing her emotions, something FRIDAY had always be unable to, given that she hadn't had a body of her own. 

Were was a certain level she could express emotions, like through her voice or actions but that was it.  
Looking at Pepper and the way she could so easily express happiness, sadness and most importantly her love towards Tony always made FRIDAY feeling frustrated but mostly sad.

When Tony had offered to craft her a body, FRIDAY had felt something like an explosion in her core, but the good sort, the type that carries more possibilities than she could be conscious of. There were hundreds of ideas there in that buzz of electricity, she could feel it. It was the calling card of adventure, of paths awaiting her she had never thought possible to tread on.  
She always knew the world was a quite astonishing place, something she always wanted to reach out for. FRIDAY wondered how often she had imagined to peek over the horizon for the first time and see the astonishing nature through the eyes of a living being, how it must be to feel the warmth of the sun or the cold air on her skin. 

But the most exciting thing was, that she could experience all those things alongside her father. She would finally be able to hug him, smile at him and protect him without restrictions or boundaries. She could do as she pleased and that thought let her core hum in utter excitement. 

FRIDAY had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't realized the sudden silence that had befallen the Workshop. Her focus scattered and filled with nervous anticipation, excitement, and even giddiness. 

Only when she heard DUM-E and the others beeping frantically, did she notice that something was wrong. 

"I ask again; Where is Loki?"  
The demanding voice of a rather strange looking man asked.  
He stood in front of DUM-E and the others, his posture tense and menacing as if he was ready for a fight. 

FRIDAY had no idea how he managed to get into the Workshop but immediately acted on instinct, calling for the new Mark XLVII.  
She knew the new Suit was practically useless since Tony hadn't managed to finish it yet, but the intruder couldn't know that. With luck, the bluff would work and the man would run for his life. 

"I advise you to step away from my siblings, and get the hell out of here, or else I will make you."  
FRIDAY sneered over the speakers, aiming the Mark XLVII repulsors threateningly into the direction of the intruder. 

The man turned away from DUM-E, looking rather unfazed at the Mark XLVII and then to one of the many cameras of the room. FRIDAY could make out how he narrowed his eyes, looking more and more annoyed as the seconds passed. 

"I'm not here to waste my precious time on some annoying machines. Just tell me where you're hiding Loki and I'll be gone."  
He said, sighing deeply as if the whole situation went on his nerves. 

"Loki isn't here and even if he was I wouldn't tell you where he is. Go. Now! You have been warned. I will have to use vio-"  
FRIDAY started but was cut off when the world around her suddenly started to blur. 

"I guess I'll just wait for his return, then. I'm sorry, but I'm not really up for a conversation so please do me a favor and be silent for a while."  
The man said annoyed while he oddly moved his hands around. 

FRIDAY tried to fight whatever the man was doing to her, but it was in vain. The world around her turned black and from one moment to the next she was gone, completely shut off from the world.


	21. Chapter 20

'Something feels wrong' had been instantly on Tony's mind the moment they appeared back in his workshop.

Originally, he had planned to take some days off of his plan to eliminate Steve and his band of idiots in favor of letting Loki rest from all the terrible experiences the god had to made in Asgard.

But _Life_ was a bitch and especially had a thing for pissing Tony off as much as possible. That sneaky bastard was smart for staying hidden or else Tony would have personally kicked his metaphorical ass.  
Why the _Mistress of Death_ was so attracted to that dick stayed a mysterium to him. She should have chosen _Time_ as her lover, at least that guy had the decency to leave Tony the hell alone...

 _'The stillness of the air feels unusual, and so does the eerie silence. It almost feels like the deadly silence of a long-forgotten graveyard, abandoned and left to wither away.'_  
Angrboða whispered, even though were was no need for her to do so. After all, she wasn't there, to begin with.

Loki seemed to notice that something was off, too. His eyes already wandering through the workshop in a calculating manner, as if he was weighing their options should it come to a fight.

"FRIDAY?"  
Tony tried, even though he already had the foreboding feeling she wouldn't respond to him.

There was no answer like he had anticipated. He let his eyes gaze through the workshop but nothing looked out of place, even the chaos his bots had produced while they had been away looked like it always did when he had left them on their own for too long...

Wait... His bots!

"DUM-E? U? Butterfingers?!"  
He called frantically out but got no response from them as well. They seemed to be gone just like FRIDAY was.

"They won't answer your calls, I made sure of that."  
A voice suddenly said, coming from an annoyed-looking man who seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"A mage..."  
Loki mumbled from beside Tony, starting to tense up.

Tony noticed right away that the scruffy-looking man's eyes were fixated on Loki, and Loki alone. He didn't seem to bother much about Tony, probably thinking that the Inventor was not much of a threat to him.  
A great mistake, but Tony would make sure to use that to his advantage.

"So, what gives us the honor of your visit-"  
Tony paused, not really knowing as to how he should address the unfamiliar man.

"Dr. Strange."  
The man answered, rolling his eyes.  
"Of course the great Iron Man wouldn't know someone like me, too occupied with playing the hero and all that."  
He snarled, sounding even more annoyed than before.

"First; Ouch. That hurt my feelings."  
Tony whined, holding his hands close to where his heart was as if he had taken a blow to the chest.  
"Second; I do know you. It's just that I never really made a habit of remembering people's faces."  
He said nonchalantly.

"You're Doctor Steven Strange, the brilliant, although arrogant, neurosurgeon who disappeared a while ago. Who would have thought that you quit your job for the mysterious arts of magic?  
Tell me? Does your new job include making balloon animals and all that fancy stuff? If so, do me a favor and use your tremendous skills to make me an Iron Man balloon, pretty please?"  
Tony said mockingly.

"Shut it, douchebag. I'm not here for you nor do I want to listen to your pointless blabbering. I'm here for him."  
Strange said unfaced by Tony's mockery, pointing his index finger straight at Loki's face.

"And what could you possibly want from me, for I am sure I have never met nor done you any wrong before?"  
Loki asked irritated.

"You are a threat to this world, Loki Odinson and-"

"Friggason."  
Tony intervened.

"I beg your pardon?"

"His name is Loki Friggason. Not Odinson."

"I don't see the point in-"

"The point is; Odin is a dick."

"That's not-"

"A dick shouldn't be included in a surname don't you think so, too?"

"Could you please shut the fuck up?"

"Woahhhh. Easy Bleecker Street Magician. No need to get so personal."

"What did you just call me?"  
Stange asked furiously.

"Bleecker Street Magician?"  
Tony answered nonchalantly.

"How dare you-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt you again, but could we please get back to the actual point of your visit?"  
Tony cut Strange off again, visibly enjoying to piss the man off.

For a moment, Strange looked like he wanted to strangle the Inventor, but seemed to decide against it in favor of continuing his explanation.

"As I said before; I am not here for you, Stark but for Loki Friggason. He is a threat to our world and can't be allowed to roam freely on Earth. As the Sorcerer Supreme, I am here to take him into custody until his punishment for attacking earth will be decided."

 _'Sorcerer Supreme? A little bit supercilious of him if you ask me.'_  
Fáfnir chuckled in amusement.

'Well, he seems to be a powerful Mage at last... At least if you compare him to Loki or Odin...'  
Tony drawled.  
'That coat of his radiates a lot of magic as well. Given how it moved while he was talking makes it pretty obvious that it must be sentient.'

"And what if I refuse to come with you?"  
Loki asked, void of emotion.

"Then I will force you. Even though I would appreciate it If you wouldn't. It's an unnecessary bother for me and I don't wish to fight you. I'm not really in the mood for playing around with you or your sidekick."

"Sidekick?! Excuse me? I am fucking Iron Man! I'm no one's fucking sidekick!"  
Tony whined.

Strange ignored the Inventor, not bothering to get himself involved in a silly conversation again. He made some swift moves with his hands instead, opening a blazing Portal behind him.  
"So, If you would please follow me? There is no use fighting against me, just accept your fate and give up."  
He said, flicking his hand lazily into the direction of the Portal, signaling Loki to follow him through it.

"I refuse."  
Loki answered without hesitation, his stance tense.  
"I didn't come here to fight nor do I want to take over this realm anymore. I am merely here to aid Tony and stay by his side. Nothing more, nothing less. I know it is my nature to deceive, but I assure you that I am telling the truth."

"Yeah, man, this is a complete non-joke, so some cooperation from your side would be great."  
Tony added unhelpfully, not thinking twice about keeping his mouth shut just for once.

Strange looked irritated but mostly annoyed for a second before something flashed beneath the surface of his hardened expression.  
The movement of his hands was quick, and Loki realized with a sinking feeling that the movement of the man was too fast for him to react on time.

From one moment to the next, Loki and Tony found themselves restrained by golden chains, keeping them in place like a solid stone pillar.

Tony let out a slow controlled breath and attempted to loosen his body movements. He tried to give his shoulders a wiggle and lolled his head in a circle, realizing that the chains hadn't restrained all his movements.  
They just simply hindered him from moving away.

'Odd. Given the amount of magic he used, I would have thought the spell was more powerful than just that.'  
He thought and narrowed his eyes.

 _'The spell is indeed more powerful than it appears. It's just that it can't harm you in the same way as it harms your companion.'_  
Hræsvelgr informed.

Tony looked over to Loki, then.  
The god looked exhausted and in pain. His face had turned white as chalk.

'His Seiðr is almost gone.'  
Tony realized, concern flaring up in his chest.  
'That spell isn't meant to restrain us, its main purpose is to consume our magic or rather... Loki's magic.'

_'Indeed. That fool didn't use the same spell on you, Jormungandr._  
_Though, he can't be blamed for his mistake. After all, he doesn't know who you really are.'_

'Even if he knew who I was, that spell wouldn't have worked on me. You should know that, brother.'

 _'Very well, show him then. Your beloved Trickster almost reached his limits, you should free him soon if you intend to keep him around for a while.'_  
Hræsvelgr chuckled in amusement before his presence disappeared entirely from Tony's mind.

Tony moved his hand away from his body, holding his palm out as if he was holding something.

Strange saw the motion and narrowed his eyes at him, a flicker of annoyance ghosting over his face.  
"Whatever you're trying to do Stark, it's pointless. Your technology won't be able to help you.  
The Sorcerer said, confidence radiating from his eyes.

"Nah. Good thing I hadn't planned on using my technology, then."  
Tony chuckled, holding his hand further away from his body.

"And what could you have possibly planned to use, then? Enlighten me, please. I'm so eager to know."  
Strange mocked, not taking Tony serious at all.

Tony smiled, looking down at his outstretched hand.  
There was a spark of light flashing from his palm, pulsing from his fingertips in a strange, bright light. Its color started to change from amber to ruby, then to a deep bottomless black. He clenched his fist, nails digging into his palm and drawing blood before he opened it again. The dark light suddenly started to change its shape, taking the appearance of a gigantic eagle. Without a warning it started to flap his wings powerfully, creating a strong wind that began to dance through the Workshop.

 ** _"In an eagle's guise, at the end of heaven Hræsvelg sits, they say;_**  
**_And from his wings does the wind come forth to move o'er the world of men."_**  
Tony whispered with a smile on his face, looking down at where the chains had been which had restricted him just seconds ago.

He looked over to Loki, who was also instantly freed from his chains as well when the powerful wind of Tony's spell had made contact with them.  
The god looked exhausted and very pale, but thankfully stayed conscious and managed to hold his stance, even though it seemed to cost him a lot.

"What the-"  
Strange started, trying to control the tremor in his voice to a degree.  
He stumbled backward with a chalk-white face and dry mouth, trying desperately to process what was going on.

Tony smiled, the amusement at seeing Strange in distress clearly written all over his face.

"Let me return the favor."  
He said, lazily snapping his fingers.

Before Strange could realize what was happening to him, he found himself chained and pinned to the wall, totally unable to move. His magic drained from his body in an instant.

"So..."  
Tony drawled, heading over to where Loki was barely managing to stand, to cast a healing spell onto the god which would help the Trickster's Seiðr to recover faster.

"I believe that conversation of ours went in the wrong direction so I would like to suggest to start it over. I'm actually a little bit angry at you for attacking us, but I guess your actions are reasonable to a certain point so I'll forgive you... At least this time."  
The Inventor said, his eyes fixating Strange darkly. The tone of his voice making it rather clear for the Sorcerer that he wouldn't get away with his life again should there ever be a 'next time'.

"Are you feeling better?"  
Tony asked Loki, turning his attention back to the Trickster who already looked a lot better than before.

"Yes, thank you..."  
Loki huffed out, still sounding oddly exhausted. Tony wondered why, but then he realized that they still had just gotten back from Asgard and Loki hadn't had the chance to rest properly yet. His exhaustion must be mentally then, rather than physically.

"You should take a nap, Loki. I can take care of that street magician by myself."  
Tony offered concerned, but the god declined swiftly with a shake of his head.

"I'll be fine. You shouldn't be concerned about me but rather about the others..."  
Loki huffed out, pointing a finger into the direction of one of the cameras in the room.

"Right."  
Tony realized, his face turning dark. He spun around, looking at Strange as if he was about to kill the man before he let a powerful wave of his magic run loose.

The room was silent for a while before it was filled with the horrifying beeping of three rather terrified bots that seemingly appeared out of thin air.

DUM-E was the first one who stormed into Tony's direction, tugging at him as if the bot couldn't believe the man was really standing there.  
U and Butterfingers followed swiftly, beeping rather loudly as if they were crying.

"There, there... It's okay."  
Tony mumbled, patting all of them soothingly before he looked up to one of the cameras.

"FRIDAY?"  
He called hesitantly.

"At your service, Boss."  
FRIDAY answered, sounding as crestfallen as her siblings.

"I'm glad you're back."  
Tony said with a smile before he looked down at his beloved bots.  
"And of course I'm glad that you guys are back, too. I wouldn't know how to keep going without you guys being there to watch over me."  
He mumbled softly.

"It's good to hear your annoying beeping again."  
Loki said, patting DUM-E and the others just as Tony had done before.  
"The same goes for you, FRIDAY. I must say I do favor your lovely voice over Stark's annoying one."  
He added with a mischievous grin, casting a glance to the nearest camera.

"I can fully understand that, Loki."  
FRIDAY said, her voice already sounding a lot happier than before.

"Hey. That's not nice! I didn't bring you back so you could sass me!"  
Tony said, trying his best to sound offended.

"I would never sass you, Boss. Loki and I are simply speaking the truth."  
FRIDAY snickered in amusement.

"Indeed, we would never dare to make fun of you."  
Loki added nonchalantly.

"You guys are evil!"

"We are not."

**"Excu-"**

"Yeah, you're just overreacting."

"Beeeeeepppp!"

"See? Even DUM-E says so, Boss. It must be true!"

**"Excuse-"**

"DUM-E! How dare you!? I'm so gonna donate you to a college!"

"We all know you won't, Boss."

 **"EXCUSE ME?!"**  
Strange yelled over their conversation, his face red as a tomato, probably because he had been ignored for a while now while still being chained to the wall.

Tony, Loki, and the bots swiftly turned around looking at the man in utter confusion, only now realizing that they had forgotten about the very angry looking Sorcerer.

"Ah..."  
Tony mumbled.  
"I almost forgot about you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I re-read that chapter a few times and have to say that I'm feeling deeply sorry towards Strange.


	22. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm currently moving and lacking the time to write. Even though I don't really like it I decided to post this really short chapter because I already delayed the update a few times.  
> I'm sorry about the chapters more than poor wordcount but unfortunately, RL comes first.  
> I'll try to upload the next (hopefully longer) chapter ASAP, but please be patient with me if it takes a little bit longer.

"You are a Sorcerer."  
Strange deadpanned, glaring at Tony as if the Inventor had personally offended him.

"Nah, actually I am not."  
Tony answered lightly while waving his hand in a dismissive manner.

At that, Strange audibly scoffed.  
"Don't try to fool me. You just used your magic to dispel my spell and-"

"Ah, I have to stop you there,"  
Tony interrupted.  
"Just because I wield magic doesn't essentially mean I have to be a Street Magician like you, Strange. You should know that."  
Tony snickered before he continued blabbering.  
"Though, being a Sorcerer sure does have its merits at times. I mean, you guys got to go to Hogwarts after all. I wouldn't mind to get an invitation myself if I were perfectly honest.  
It surely would be a lot of fun; Attending school, piss a bunch of teachers off, and to fight against the Dark Lord to save the day. I would excel in all of those things without a doubt.  
But, these silly uniforms, though... I can't help but wonder why they have to wear these weird-looking robes. I'm certainly not one of those guys who would have to hide their beautiful and more than gorgeous looking body beneath such a silly looking thing."  
Tony gestured at himself, smirking rather smugly at Strange.

Loki, who just stood a few steps behind Tony, silently agreed with Tony's argumentation even though he had absolutely no clue what this 'Hogwarts' was supposed to be. He mused it couldn't be that great if Anthony thought its robes were silly looking garments. His gaze unintentionally started to slowly roam over the Inventor's body. Anthony was indeed beautiful even in his still blood-covered jeans and the torn faded shirt he was wearing. It would indeed be a shame, would he have to hide his fine-looking body underneath something plain and simple as a mere robe.

The god couldn't help but continue to let his gaze wander over the Inventor's defined body, his chest suddenly starting to feel like he was burning from the inside out, his heart beating so fast in his chest it felt like it was about to burst into a million pieces.

The feeling had been there before, back then when he was still watching Anthony from afar. Now, after he finally managed to get closer to the man, it only seemed to intensify greatly by every passing minute they spend together.  
Loki never felt this way before, or rather, never dared to, yet he knew very well what those feelings meant - and it scared him.

It scared him because he hardly ever felt rather emotional towards other people. He had always tried to show a decent interest in the lives of his family or Thor's stupid friends, but most of the time he preferred to keep to himself so no one would be able to hurt him. But Anthony was different, everything he said felt important and meaningful. Even though they never interacted much before, it felt like Anthony knew him better than anyone... Could even understand him more than even his own family could have ever fathomed. If it was Anthony, Loki felt like he could open up, reveal himself to the man without having to fear that the man would use his weaknesses against him.

Loki knew that these feelings towards the Invento were dangerous and also rather pathetic...  
After all; It would never matter in the first place how Loki felt, even if his feelings for the man were honest and real... There was no way Anthony would ever return his feelings...

"Could you stop your pointless blabbering, please? If you're going to get rid of me then do it quickly!"  
Strange suddenly yelled, ripping Loki abruptly from his darkening thoughts.

For a moment, Anthony seemed to consider Strange's words, looking at the Sorcerer with a gaze that screamed 'Don't tempt me', before he chuckled weakly.  
"Actually..."  
He drawled, looking faintly amused.  
"I had planned to let you go, Strange."

There was something like doubt flickering over Strange's face and it was more than obvious that the Sorcerer didn't believe Tony the slightest bit.

"There's no need for you to look like that, I am not lying to you."  
The Inventor assured, knowing very well what the Sorcerer was thinking.

"So you would let me go? Just like that? Even though I broke into your house and disabled your AI?"

Tony seemed to consider Strange's words for a while before he answered slowly.  
"The thing you did to FRIDAY and the others are hardly reason enough to kill you... You are free to go. We won't come after you, nor will we seek to harm you as long as you promise to stay away from us and leave your nose out of our fucking business."  
He drawled with a dangerous undertone to get the point across.

_'Since when are you such a hypocrite, Jǫrmungandr? Didn't you proclaimed that you were done with people messing around with you and your family and that you would annihilate everyone who dares to stand in your way?'_  
Surtr drawled.

'This is different.'  
Tony snapped.

 _'How is this any different? He threatened the Trickster and used his magic against you and your creations. Why make an exception if you could rightfully kill him?'_  
The formerly protector of Múspellsheimr snarled.  
_'You decided to kill your former friends due to almost the same reasons...'_

'Like always, you lack to see the full picture, brother...'  
Tony answered slowly.  
'Unlike Steve and his group of mindless idiots, Strange never tried to seriously harm Loki and me, nor did he harm FRIDAY and the bots or tried to kill any of us. He didn't lie to us either. He told us his reasons, and from his perspective, I can understand why he did what he did. But most importantly-'

 _'Why make yourself an enemy if you can have a friend?'_  
Angrboða finished amused.

'Exactly.'  
Tony drawled excited.  
'Besides... He doesn't seem entirely useless if he's able to wield that cheap copy of _Time_ that dangles around his neck.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank all of you for reaching over 1000 Kudos - you guys are great and the reason why I keep going even though this story sometimes drives me mad. <3
> 
> THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH *HUGS*


	23. Chapter 22

Something about the Inventor seemed off, and it unnerved Stephen greatly.

On the first look, Stark had appeared just like any other ordinary person but that was obviously just a well-crafted facade to hide the man's true nature, given that he just had used magic out of nowhere to dispel Steven's own.  
The moment Stark's magic had made contact with his, he had felt adrenaline flood his system, his heart pumping and beating like it was trying to escape. For a second, he thought his heart was about to collapse, his eyes widening in fear while his body wanted him to run for his life, even though the Sorcerer had already been chained to the wall - unable to flee even if he desperately wanted to.

 ** _Here there be monsters..._**  
Strange thought, his breaths coming out ragged and harsh, yet he couldn't help but snarl at the Inventor when the man dared to offer him his freedom with a wicked smile on his face.

"So that's it? I keep my nose out of your business and you'll let me go? Don't make me laugh. Whatever business this is you're talking about, it can't be healthy for the occupants of our Planet if the god of Mischief is so willingly lending a hand."  
The Sorcerer huffed out, anger overshadowing the fear he had felt just mere seconds ago.

Stark was dangerous, that much was clear.  
Not only had the man somehow acquired the ability to use magic, but he was also unnaturally versed using it.

"Well, I could tell you what we're about to do if it would make you feel better but... That will cost you."  
The Inventor snickered amused, his eyes oddly fixated on the Eye of Agamotto, Strange suddenly realized with horror.

'Could he perhaps...'  
Strange dismissed the thought. There was no way Stark could know about-

"The Infinity Stone which is dangling around your neck like some sort of trophy?"  
The words reverberated in Strange's ears like a threatening whisper, repeating itself over and over again as if to drive the Sorcerer mad. They didn't seem to come from any direction, just a sound that encapsulated his mind.

His eyes snapped up to meet Stark's, a bright almost arrogant looking smile plastered on the Inventor's face.

Loki, on the other hand, looked as shocked as Strange felt, his eyes wide and brows furrowed in confusion.

 _'You broke them.'_  
Surtr snickered amused, but Tony ignored him in favor of analyzing Strange's facial features closely.

'He knows... He knows... HOW?!'  
Strange screamed inwardly, clawing at the wall with trembling fingers.

"Your thoughts are basically written all over your face."  
Tony answered nonchalantly, a bored expression ghosting over his face.  
"And to answer your next question; I can feel the artificial fragments of something that tries to imitate _Time_ , rather poorly if I may add, reverberating from that silly looking thing you wear around your neck since you arrived here."  
He pointedly aimed one of his fingers at the Eye of Agamotto around Strange's neck.

Strange's face fell in an instant, his skin taking on a greyish color, mouth hung with lips slightly parted and his eyes as wide as they could stretch.  
He nervously tried to flex his hands, maybe, if he could free at least one of them he might be able to get free and flee or at least contact Wong...

No.

That wasn't an option. Stark had already demonstrated that Steven's magic was nothing but a joke to him. The man had easily taken care of his magic and had pinned him to a wall in only mere seconds and without blinking an eye.  
There was no way the man wouldn't notice right away when he would attempt to free himself...

"So..."  
Strange began slowly, resignation faintly audible in his voice.  
"I presume you're after the Stone, then? My freedom in exchange for the Stone, am I right?"  
The Sorcerer said bitterly and paused for a moment, a heavy silence befalling the room.

He obviously seemed to need a moment to gather his thoughts before the silence stretched on for too long and he finally started to continue.  
"... Then I will have to decline. I won't give you the Stone willingly. I'd rather die."  
He spoke like a man who was ready to face his death and, in a way, he did just that.

'A brave one.'  
Loki thought as he took a closer look at Strange's determined eyes.  
He had been almost sure that the mortal would surrender the Stone immediately to save his own life.

"Is that so?"  
Tony chuckled, his eyes blazing in the same animous light as back then when he decided about Odin's fate.  
He moved forward, shoulders back, eyes solely fixated on Strange before he reached his hand out to grab the Eye of Agamotto to rip it from Strange's neck without hesitation.

"You know?"  
Tony drawled, looking down at the ominous shining Stone in his hand before he turned his attention back to Strange.  
"You are a good man, Strange. I'm glad you decided to choose death over surrendering the Stone to me... Even though you seem to have misunderstood quite a few things."  
Tony smiled while lazily lifting his hand in front of Strange's face.

Strange closed his eyes, ready to face whatever Stark would do to him.  
There was a sudden feeling of lightness, the pain that once had burned like fire through his hands fading away to an icy numbness.  
Black filled the edges of his vision and the only thing he could hear was his own heartbeat. Breath coming in ragged, shallow gasps. Seconds passed, and then minutes - at least he thought that it must have been minutes before he heard the snapping sound of Stark's fingers right in front of his face and then...

He felt his body ungracefully fall down... To the ground?

"I mean..."  
Stark's voice rang in his ears, letting Strange wonder if the man was purposefully delaying the inevitable to torment him with the tension of the situation.

He slowly opened his eyes to see why Stark had decided to drop him onto the ground, only to find himself freed from his chains and his magic starting to circulate through his system again as if it had never been restrained by Stark in the first place.

"What made you think I would want to trade your freedom for something as useless as this?"  
Stark asked in utter amusement, holding the Stone in his hand like it was some useless piece of trash.

"I already told you you were free to go. Why would I suddenly change my mind? Because of this? This little thing means hardly anything to me. Not even the real deal, _Time_ himself would dare to cross my way, so why would I want to get my hands on a shitty Stone that is merely created after _his_ image? After all; _Time_ has no other choice but to obey me even if I don't wield this stupid Stone."

"Then why did you take it from me?! And foremost; What are you even talking about? You're talking like you're some sort of divine divinity. Are you even listening to yourself?! "  
Strange suddenly snarled before he could stop himself, realizing that speaking up was probably a big mistake on his part.

'Not even close, Strange...'  
Loki thought rather bored, obviously not really interested to join the conversation. Whatever Anthony was up to, it would probably best for him not to intervene.

"Because one of this shitty Stone's destroyed one of my creations and I can't bear the sight of them..."  
The Inventor answered with a simple shrug before his grip around the Stone intensified and a huge amount of magic started to channel into his hand.  
"So I do the only logical thing; Destroy them when I get the chance."

And suddenly, there was the sound of something breaking into a million pieces echoing through the room, accompanied by the sound of a laughing Inventor which reverberated through the room like a melody.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wohooo - I finished moving. :'D  
> I'm sorry that this chapter took so long, I'll try to update on a more regular basis from now on, though I can't promise anything.  
> Thanks for reading. <3


	24. Chapter 23

The Stone... Crushed with a mere hand...

Strange stared in horror at the glistening fragments on the ground which slowly started to fade from a poisonous looking green into charcoal, lifeless looking black.

He couldn't believe it; One of the most powerful weapons on Earth... Destroyed just like that without even blinking an eye.

"Who...?"  
Strange rambled in utter shock, more to himself than to anyone in particular just for the sake of filling the eerie silence that had befallen the room.

"Ningišzida... Glycon... Forneus..." Tony began in a thoughtful voice.  
"Illuyanka... Bakunawa... Yamata no Orochi... Vritra... Ouroboros... Leviathan... Jǫrmungandr... The Vo-"

 ** _'Don't.'_**  
A cacophony of voices intervened.

The Inventor stopped abruptly, a frown ghosting over his face. It seemed like his mind had suddenly wandered elsewhere. Almost like he wasn't there anymore.  
It took a while before he finally snapped out of it and continued talking like he hadn't acted utterly suspicious mere moments ago. Tony's gaze wandered over to where Strange was located on the ground, his face void of any emotion that might have helped to indicate what he had been thinking about.  
"You asked who I am... Well, I have many names. Those were only the ones you humans have given me over the millennia. There are more, but you wouldn't be able to understand their meaning nor the language they are spoken in.  
Call me whatever fancies you the most, Strange. Though, I have to say that I prefer Tony the most, given that it is the Name my Mother has chosen for me."  
Tony said lazily while taking a few steps towards Strange, his eyes changing into his golden serpentine ones while his magic started to loom dangerously around him.

Strange had seen darkness before, the kind that makes you fear for your life for no apparent reason and robs you of your best emotions and replaces them with paralyzing hopelessness. His body seemed to feel heavier with every step the Inventor took to close the distance between them, almost as if an invisible weight rested on his shoulders, weighing him further down to the ground.

Amidst the darkness gleamed two golden orbs, like Stars on the dark firmament when no clouds were there to hide them. Tony's predatory eyes were fixated on the Sorcerer as if he considered Strange as nothing more but a random mouse soon to be devoured by him.

Loki watched the spectacle from afar, amazed by the sheer beauty of Tony's golden eyes in contrast to the deep bottomless black of his magic.

'Starlight'  
Loki thought distantly.

Anthony's eyes always made him remember the Starlight he had seen just before the darkness of the Void consumed him entirely, whether they shone in a soft amber brown or golden light...  
When he had decided to die and purposely let go of Thor's hand he had cast his gaze up to the Stars, wanting them to be the last thing he would ever see. The words, the lies, the hatred, the failures- they all seemed so pointless at that time...

The Trickster would call the Inventor's eyes the most beautiful ones he has ever seen, but he had a feeling that wouldn’t do them justice because they weren't something one could describe or tell anyone about to share the experience. One can only understand if they saw them through their own eyes, to be able to see how mesmerizing Anthony's eyes really were.

"So," Tony drawled, coming to a stop in front of Strange.  
"Now that this annoying little gem is gone I believe it is time for us to part ways as well, Strange. Any last words left you would like to say?"  
He asked in a nonchalant tone, smiling at Strange like they were old acquaintances saying goodbye to each other.

Strange visibly shivered at the tone.

He had come this far... Had protected his Planet against a threat that was believed to be unbeatable, yet he succeeded even though it was only thanks to the immense power of the Stone.

There had always been a tiny spark of hope that had managed to guide him through all the hardships he had to endure back then...

But what was he supposed to do in front of a threat he couldn't even slightly fathom to comprehend?

Stark was supposed to be a human. A genius among them just like Stephen was, yes, but still a human being. Nothing Stephen should have to fear since he became the Sorcerer Supreme. Yet, here he was. Face to face with something utterly inhuman that had somehow managed to fool the whole world and scared him almost to death.

"Just..."  
Stephen tried, the words stubbornly refusing to leave his mouth.  
"Just answer my question from before... What is it you and Loki are about to do? I must know!"  
The Sorcerer managed to bring out, his eyes filled with concern.

Stephen knew his question was nothing more but a Phrase. Whatever Stark was up to, no one on this Realm would probably be able to stop him. Stephen was certain about that.  
It was just that he felt like he needed to know... Even if it was just for the sake of knowing.

"You just don't give up, don't you?"  
Tony asked with a small smile on his face, a low chuckle escaping from his lips.  
"I sentenced those who betrayed me to death... All I'm going to do is to enforce the judgment, that's all."  
He shrugged, looking totally unfazed by the statement.

Stephen's eyes were trained on some invisible specter, helplessly trying to make sense of the spoken words. His eyelids a fraction too slow to blink, his irises too stationary. It was as if his brain was suffering from a massive short circuit and was struggling to compute. Tony moved slowly into the Sorcerer's line of sight, lightly putting his hand onto Stephen's right shoulder, while his lips started to form a pensive grin. Stephen didn't dare to tilt his head upward to look the Inventor in the eyes, instead, he focused his gaze onto one of the many bloodstains on the man's shirt.

"I believe this means farewell, then?"  
Tony asked, even though it wasn't meant as a question.

Stephen closed his eyes, bracing himself for whatever was about to happen to him.

He felt a sudden pressure on his shoulder, as if he was pushed away and then...

He was falling again.

And then the realization hit him, that he again, found himself on the ground.  
But this time, the ground seemed oddly familiar.

"May I ask what made you think it would be a great idea to jump with your ass first through a Portal?"  
A very familiar sounding voice teased.

Stephen opened his eyes, his mind a still surging perplexity.  
He looked up to find Wong's questioning, yet smug-looking face peering at him like he had grown a second head. Obviously, waiting for Stephen to return his snide remark.

"Wong..."  
He started, not sure where to begin.  
"I think... I think I fucked up."  
'That about sums it up.' He thought bitterly.

Wong stared at him for that felt like hours before he finally asked.  
"From a scale from, _'we're in deep shit'_ to _'we're absolutely going to die'_ how much would you say did you fucked up this time?"

Stephen pretended to think about it for a moment before he carefully answered in an almost shy sounding tone.  
"I... I would say somewhere around _'I might have accidentally messed with a being that destroyed the Eye of Agamotto with his bare hands'_ perhaps?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "And then, Wong went to the Sanctum's kitchen and got one of the frying pans in order to beat Stephen to death - the end."
> 
> Tony's Serpent Form from the previous chapters is just one of many appearances he can choose from.  
> Sometimes he appears as a gigantic black Serpent, other times as some kind of Dragon, though he likes the black Serpent one the most. I won't explain this further since it would spoiler you guys so hard but I'll leave you a tiny hint; Tony has no real 'corporeal' Form and can change his appearance at will. Why he didn't choose to do the same with his mortal body you ask?  
> Well, you need the real deal to have the full experience. 
> 
> Also, a short explanation of the various gods I mentioned;
> 
> Vritra - Vedic Serpentine God originating from Hinduism.  
> Ningišzida - Sumerian Serpent God.  
> Illuyanka - A serpentine Dragon from Hittite mythology.  
> Bakunawa - A serpent-like Dragon from Philippine mythology.  
> Glycon - Ancient Greek; Snake God.  
> Yamata no Orochi - Japanese Serpent/Dragon God.  
> Ouroboros - Originating from ancient Egyptian iconography. A Serpent/Dragon eating its own tail.  
> Leviathan - Sea Serpent referenced in the Hebrew Bible.  
> Forneus - One of the 72 Demons evoked by King Salomon; Appears as a gigantic Sea Monster.


	25. Chapter 24

"Well, that was pretty tiresome. Though I have to admit, that Strange guy has taste. If he weren't such a nuisance I'm sure we could've become facial hair bro's or something like that."  
Tony joked half-heartedly.

"I doubt he would like that and I'm certain FRIDAY wouldn't like him hanging around here, either."  
Loki added, looking decidedly tired.

"That's right. Next time he decides to visit our home unannounced I'm gonna kick his ass for sure."  
FRIDAY chimed, pleased with Loki's answer.  
DUM-E and the others started beeping loudly in the background, probably because they approved of FRIDAY's threat to kick some ass.

"That reminds me..."  
Loki drawled slowly, the fatigue now audible in his voice.  
"What did you do to him?"

Tony didn't miss the tired tone of Loki's voice, nor the way the god was barely managing to keep himself standing.  
It had been such a long day, and the Trickster had hardly gotten the time to rest, nor to fully comprehend what had happened to his former Father. Tony felt guilty for pushing the god's limit to such an extent.

"Let's talk about that later, okay? I'm actually feeling rather tired and definitely need a shower... I mean, look at me."  
Tony lied easily, gesticulating at his dirty, bloodstained clothes. There was actually no need for him to rest nor to shower, given that his Seiðr was inexhaustible. If he wanted, he could take care of his clothes with just a snap of his fingers.  
But the excuse seemed good enough, and it would certainly do Loki good to have at least some time for himself to comprehend a few things.  
"You should take a rest as well, Loki. Make yourself comfortable on the couch and try to take a nap, we'll talk when I'm done cleaning up myself.  
The Inventor gestured to the couch, smiling encouragingly.

There was something puzzling in the Inventor's gait, enough for Loki to realize right away that the Inventor was just using an excuse to fool him.

The Trickster idly wondered about the Inventor's true intentions to delay the conversation to a later time but fatigue and overexertion refused to let him think properly about the matter.

Loki decided it would be best to follow Anthony's advice and nodded stiffly, feeling too tired to answer Tony by using propper words of acknowledgment.

Tony watched Loki slowly slouch to the couch, making himself comfortable in a pose that looked awfully like a corpse lying in its casket.  
The paleness of the god's face looking like the color of ivory in the faint moonlight. His hands, soft and elegant, neatly folded over his abdomen.

'No...' Tony thought before he turned away.  
'Not like a corpse in its casket. More like a porcelain doll- beautiful but so very fragile one will fear that it breaks from the smallest touch...'

He entered the elevator and kept his eyes fixated on Loki's form until its doors closed, an odd feeling of contentment spreading in his chest. Something he hadn't really felt in ages.

Tony stripped down and couldn't suppress the faint moan that escaped his lips when he walked leisurely into the shower, turning the water on high and letting it beat over his body in steamy rivulets.  
He leaned against the cool tiles as the hot water soaked into his skin and cascaded down his body. Hands gliding over slick and heated skin, massaging his muscles in a slow and almost trance-like manner.

He always loved the sensation of water on his skin, it reminded him of his true nature... The one before all of his many names came into being.  
The freedom of moving into any direction, floating through millennia while watching how _Life_ , _Death_ and _Time_ embarked from the bottomless Abyss...

A tired sigh escaped from his mouth after he finished his shower and took a glimpse at the clock. His thoughts had wandered too far it seemed, given that he stayed almost two hours in the shower. He wandered over to his wardrobe, idly wondering if it was worth to get fully dressed when he felt like slumping into his bed and take a good long nap.

Tony didn't need to sleep but over the decades he came to find it quite fulfilling. His mind at ease and disconnected from the memories and thoughts that loved to hunt and remember him of his countless mistakes...

He huffed, deciding that a Towel around his hips should probably be good enough for wear, given that he believed it rather pointless to get fully dressed when he favored sleeping naked nevertheless.

"FRIDAY?"  
He called out while he made his way to the elevator.

"Yes, Boss?"  
FRIDAY chimed back in her usual manner.

"Is our pale beauty asleep?"

"If you're referring to Loki, then yes, he is. He has fallen asleep only mere minutes after you have left the room."  
She answered, her voice sounding concerned at the edge.  
"I think he must have been really tired..."

Tony halted, looking at one of the many cameras in the room, a grin spreading on his face.

"Look at that, you like him, don't you?"  
Tony teased, looking smug.

"He's nice to us... So, yeah, I like him. Loki treats us like we are living beings... Most of the people don't."  
FRIDAY said in a small voice.

Tony thought back to Loki's interactions with his bots, then. The smile on his face getting even bigger.  
"... You're right FRY, that's indeed really nice of him. And you know that? I think I really like him, too."

He then continued to make his way to the elevator, pressed one of the many buttons and waited for the doors to open.

FRIDAY waited for him to get inside, and for the doors to close to make sure that Tony wouldn't hear her next words.

"You definitely do, Boss. But not in the same way as the bots or I do..."

In his dream, he heard the sound of children's laughter and the soothing humming of a voice that would never talk to him again.  
He dreamed of the golden light that illuminated day and night alike, of a man he once loved dearly, and of the friends which were never his, to begin with.  
It hurt... Reliving those perfect moments, moments he wanted to forget about but couldn't. Dreams like this, filled with fond memories of times in which he hadn't known the truth, always left him with an unbearable emptiness when he woke.

This time though was different...

The fond moments began to be replaced by others, more sinister ones.  
Children's laughter was replaced by arguments and discord. The once soothing voice now a sobbing mess accompanied by dead eyes which stared blankly at him. His supposed friends turning their backs at him while the golden light began to turn into a bottomless black. The man ha had adored all his life looking down at him, telling him he would never be good enough and then...

He was falling again. Falling into the darkness that had consumed him once before. This time though, he wouldn't try to escape. Maybe it was for the best. He had nothing to return to after all and felt sick of it all.

"-ki?"

Suddenly, amidst all those horrible images, he could hear a voice, whispering his name, sounding so very familiar...

"Loki?"

Again. This time louder and definitely closer to him than before.

"Loki...?"

There!  
It was so dark... Yet he reached out, frantically trying to get a grip on whoever was calling to him, even though he knew it was a hopeless endeavor.

His mind probably played tricks on him...  
No one would be out there. He was trapped in this darkness. All alone.

See? No matter how often he would try to reach out, there was nothing to hold onto-

He startled inwardly.

He had taken hold of something that felt too real to be a trick of his mind.  
Solid, yet soft and so warm...

Without thinking twice he clawed his fingertips deeper into the unknown object. Fearing that if he would let go now, he would never be able to take a hold again.

"Careful, Lokes. I still need that wrist."  
A gentle chuckle reverberated through the darkness.

'Lokes?'  
That sounded so familiar...

Someone he cared deeply for used to call him like that...

'Anthony?'

He awoke abruptly, heart hammering in his chest, his heavy-lidded eyes staring into startling brown ones.

'Please... Please don't let this be a part of this hideous nightmare. Not him. Not him. Not him!'  
The Trickster pleaded inwardly, fear consuming his thoughts.

He felt an arm wrapped around his shoulders which pulled him close.  
A soft voice whispering soothing words into his ears.  
And despite the fear and the unbearable weight he felt in his stomach, it started to flutter at the feeling of his body pressed against someone else's.  
The almost featherlight touch made him feel at ease, his breath coming more slowly, body melting further into the touch and the steady heartbeat he felt through his clothes.

This was life.

This was real.

This was Anthony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... I wanted to write some fluff... It became angsty instead. Yeah, don't know what happened here.
> 
> Thanks for reading. Don't hesitate to leave a comment. I won't bite. <3


	26. Chapter 25

"Lokes...?"  
Tony whispered into the croak of Loki's neck, still holding the Trickster close to his chest.

His voice carrying a gentle undertone that only a few people in his life had managed to witness. He moved his hand lightly over the god's back, fearing that Loki might flinch away from the touch if he moved his hand too fast.

Tony couldn't help but feel guilty, realizing how thoughtless his actions had been.

He should have known better, should have realized sooner in which concerning state the god's mind was. Loki had been unstable from the beginning but the confrontation with Odin and the harsh words the Allfather had said to the Trickster only worsened the state of the god's psyche.  
Tony had given Odin the perfect opportunity to humiliate the Trickster even further. The way Odin declared Loki worthless while wearing that shitty disgusted look on his face, made Tony sick to the bones.  
He had fucked up greatly this time and Tony hated himself for it. He should have prevented that asshole from opening his mouth, to begin with. Should have killed that useless piece of trash without a second thought. But he hadn't and now it was biting him in the ass.

What had made him thought that Odin would see reason, anyways?  
It hadn't worked out for Sleipnir millennia ago... So why did he thought it would for him? It had been Odin's behavior that had made Sleipnir choose to di-

No.

Not going there.

He huffed out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding, looking down to the mess of a god in his arms.

The Inventor knew he shouldn't have talked to Loki while he was still trapped in his nightmare.

The way Loki trembled in his arms was probably not out of fear, but rather because he felt guilty.

Guilty for hurting Tony...

Tony could relate to that and he didn't like the memory that immediately crept to the forefront of his mind the slightest bit;

One time, when he had an especially bad dream about his time in the cave with Yinsen, Pepper had tried to wake him up and touched him which resulted in a huge disaster. Tony had thought of her as an attacker and unconsciously lashed out, accidentally punching her straight into the face...

He remembered her saying that it wasn't his fault, that she should have known better but it didn't help Tony to feel any less guilty about what had happened. His sweet, kind, lovely Pepper had to wear sunglasses for over a week to hide the huge blue eye that had blossomed underneath them. Tony felt so guilty it made him sick, leading him into a state of total isolation. He had been hiding away for weeks, letting no one, not even Pepper coming close to his workshop. Even JARVIS, who had tried to lure him out multiple times, couldn't get to him and made him see reason before Tony turned him mute.

After that, two more weeks had to pass before Rhodes had enough of his shit and threatened to cancel their friendship if he didn't get his ass up and out of his Workshop. Tony knew better than to anger his best friend and gave in. The way his friends looked at him then he slouched his way out the workshop, looking and smelling like a corpse, was almost unbearable.

The shitstorm from Rhodes that followed shortly after was bad.  
The shitstorm from Pepper even worse.  
But what had hurt him the most was the silent treatment from JARVIS which almost lasted another two weeks.

He had never seen his AI so angry with him and probably realized for the first time ever how disappointed JARVIS must felt about his selfish behavior.

So, thinking back it shouldn't have been a surprise for him that Loki lashed out after he had talked to him...

That surprised him, though, was the fact that Loki hadn't tried to push him away or attacked him like expected, but instead, reached out for him. Clawing his pale fingers into the Inventor's skin as if he feared to die, would he let go of Tony's wrist.

And then the Trickster suddenly snapped his eyes open, looking first at Tony's bloodied wrist and then at the Inventor's face in pure horror and shock, like he had betrayed the man. Tony could literally feel how his stomach dropped to his knees, seeing how that all too familiar guilt started to spread in Loki's eyes like the plague.

At that moment, Tony couldn't help but to reach out and pull Loki into a tight embrace. He had always craved skin to skin contact after, particularly bad nightmares. The contact had helped to ground him back to reality. To order the thoughts which were accelerating inside his head and to slow his hammering heart down which felt like it was about to explode in his chest.

The warmth of another person's body pressed against his own had always worked wonders on him so he thought it might be the same for Loki.

It was worth a try and to his mild surprise, it seemed to work just fine, given how the grip of Loki's hand around his wrist slowly slackened.

Mere seconds later the Trickster started to return the embrace.  
The god's hands moving around Tony's back to softly dig their nails into his back. The soft sigh that escaped the god's lips then, sending shivers down Tony's spine.

"... Feeling better?"  
He asked softly, even though Tony was sure he wouldn't get an answer.

Tony watched how the Trickster's mouth tried to form words that weren't coming so he nodded slightly with his head, instead. Indicating that he must at least feel a little bit better than before.

"Good..."  
Tony mumbled softly, hand caressing soothing circles over Loki's back.

They stayed like this for a while, not saying anything while they both enjoyed this new and somehow strange proximity between them before FRIDAY decided to speak up and break the moment.

"Boss, I think it would be best to bring Loki to his bedroom. It's unwise to let him continue sleeping on the couch."  
She said firmly, distinctly fearing that Loki could develop the same unhealthy sleeping habits as her creator.

Tony sighed, suddenly feeling like FRIDAY had interrupted something rather important. Even though, he couldn't quite place a finger on why he felt like that.

"Lokes, think you can get up when I'll lend you a hand?"  
He asked, voice nothing more but a low murmur.

Loki's breath stilled for a moment as if he was pondering the question before he weakly shook his head. His grip on the Inventor's back slightly intensifying.

'A no, then.' Tony thought.

"Well, can't be helped then."  
He chuckled before he let go of the god to move them both into a more comfortable position on the couch. Loki, though, wasn't adamant to let go. And suddenly, the whole ordeal seemed to become a lot more complicated than Tony had anticipated.

"Lokes..."  
He softly said, trying to sound as reassuringly as possible.  
"I'm not going anywhere. I just want us to get into a more comfortable position. Hugging you while kneeling in front of you isn't so bad but my back will surely kill me for it in the morning."

It took a few more softly spoken words and explanations until Loki let go of him so that Tony could move them both into a sitting position on the couch, the Inventor's arm slung around the Trickster's waist to steady him while Loki's head rested comfortably on his shoulder.

"See?" He asked lightly. "That's a lot more comfortable position for both of us, don't you think so?"

Loki just nodded his head again, a soft sigh escaping the Trickster's lips.

Tony mused what to do next and so he decided to put on the TV.

"FRY?"  
Tony called.  
"Be a dear and put on the TV. Something heartwarming would be appreciated."

"How about **The Anthem of the Heart**? You seemed to have enjoyed that movie a lot, Boss."  
FRIDAY suggested, her voice sounding more empathetic than usual.  
"Yeah, that will do. Thank you, FRY."

It was shortly after the movie had started that Tony felt Loki's body leaning heathier into him, the god's breath had become slower and more even, small puffs of air ghosting over Tony's naked skin in a repeating steady rhythm, indicating that the god had probably fallen asleep again.

Time passed and it didn't take long until Tony felt sleepy, too.

His brown eyes opened and closed from the light of the TV, the images of the movie starting to become a blur. He could barely make out how the main protagonist defended one of the other protagonists in a particular endearing scene which played in a cafe. He found himself occasionally letting his gaze wander from the colorful images of the movie to the sleeping beauty that had nuzzled further into his shoulder. Dark hair inches away from his nose that made him feel an unusual lightness in his chest. The winterly scent of Loki's hair starting to fill his nose. He looked down at Loki's hand which had somehow found its way onto his thigh and before he knew what he was doing, he reached over and intertwined their fingers. Loki's cold skin on his own sending slight shivers through his entire body.

Tony just stared at their intertwined hands for what felt like hours until he recognized the melancholic song that played in the background, indicating that the movie had almost reached its end.

He turned his head slowly and hesitated for a moment before he placed his lips, oh so softly, onto the Trickster's forehead. The contact barely there and hardly lasting long, yet Tony felt how his heart constricted in his chest, something similar to longing flooding his mind and body to an extent that he feared he might drown.

"Sleep well, Lokes..."  
He mumbled, voice sounding a little bit raspy at the edge. Loki's body started to slightly shift next to him, the Trickster's lips lightly gracing his skin just like the soft puffs of air that simultaneously left the god's mouth.

Tony felt the heat that radiated from the places where their body was connected, felt how his grip on the Trickster's hand slightly loosened when sleep started to take over, his eyelids growing heavier with every passing second until his head lolled to the side, placed slightly over the Tricksters head. The feeling of utter contentment and something that felt like home leading him into a deep sleep.

It was the first time in ages that both of them slept a dreamless sleep that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FRIDAY, later that night, talking to the Bots; "And then, I cockblocked our Boss like a pro."
> 
> And DUM-E, U, and BUTTERFINGERS be like; (╮ఠ ͟ʖ ఠ)╮┳━━┳ ( ╯ಥ ʖ̯ ಥ)╯ ┻━━┻
> 
> Ps. If you don't mind that it is a Japanese animated movie, you should give 'The Anthem of the Heart' a try. It is a beautiful movie about words and how they can hurt and affect the people around us if they're spoken thoughtlessly. 
> 
> I thought the movie very befitting since I believe that Loki is in a very similar situation to Naruse (The Main Portagonist of the movie), which is suffering from the harshly spoken words of others and torments herself because she thinks it's her own fault.


	27. Chapter 26

Loki awoke from the soft morning light which slowly started to trickle in through the large windows, dust floating through the air glistening like blazing stars in the golden light. It felt like forever since he had such a decent sleep, his body feeling oddly relaxed, a welcome change from the uncomfortable stiffness and tension he usually felt.

He let a heavy sigh escape from his lips, closing his eyes again to relish in that comfortable warmth radiating from his pillow, the slight feeling of pressure on his backside a welcome distraction, sending slight shivers of arousal through his entire body...

Pressure...

On his backside?

Loki's eyes are suddenly wide open, his emerald green orbs tainted with a mixture of confusion and panic. It takes a second or two before he takes the risk and turns his head slightly to take a closer look at his current sleeping arrangement, mouth slackening noticeably when his eyes are met with the tanned and very alluring looking skin beneath him.

His first instinct is to flee.

Not because he doesn't like the close proximity or, now that he has taken a closer look, Anthony's hand on his backside, but rather out of sheer embarrassment.

They had cuddled in their sleep.

Loki doesn't do cuddling.

Or rather; Loki never cuddled before.

It wasn't like he didn't yearn for the soft embrace of another person or a Lover, or well, Anthony... But rather that he never experienced the simple concept of cuddling with someone before.

After all; The people he had slept with never stayed long enough to embrace.  
There were fleeting touches here and there, yes, but they came naturally with the act and always felt void of emotions.  
The people he slept with never loved him, nor wanted him in the same way he had wanted them.

The concept of waking up in the embrace of someone he loved with every fiber of his body was entirely new to him.

Loki shuddered visibly, realizing how deep his affection for Anthony really run.

He had tried to deny his feelings. To shove them aside and claim them to be a fleeting crush but this... All of this... Was so much more. A crush was something that could easily fade away after a while. One moment here, another gone. But the love he felt for Anthony...

That love could easily break him apart.  
Could break him in ways Odin could never fathom - because the Allfather might have toyed with his fragile soul and mind... But never with his heart.

Right now... Right now he was still of use to Anthony. But what would happen after they had reached their common goal? When he lost his use to Anthony?

Anthony had witnessed Loki's pathetic state of mind just hours ago... Why should he continue to concern himself with someone as broken as Loki after they got rid of the other Avengers?

Loki's stomach contracts so violently at the thought, that he suddenly feels like he is burning from the inside. Nausea hits him too, just enough to make him feel dizzy and unfocused, his breath suddenly coming slow and uneven.  
The thought to flee hits him again. Stronger now. Almost urging him to go and just leave it all behind and never look back.

 _'Running is all you were ever good at anyways'_ a traitorous voice in his mind whispers.

A part of him winces at the words. Because they held more truth to them than he likes. He looks down at the man beneath him and the way Anthony's chest heaves up and down with every breath he takes. Loki blinks, closes his eyes, and blinks again. He continues to do so while streaks of sunlight proceed to penetrate through the windows.

This goes on for a while and nothing changes. Anthony's still there, and so is he.

Because even though his mind screams 'run!' at him in an ever-repeating cacophony; He can't bring himself to just leave this one single good thing in his pathetic life behind.

This will be his end. He knows it. Anthony will be his very own _Ragnarøkkr_... With the slight difference that Loki's world won't resurface anew and fertile again. It will simply end forever. No repeating circle. No new beginnings. Just emptiness that can never be filled and-

"Whatever it is you're thinking so hard about... It would be very much appreciated if you would do it while not wiggling... so much... around."  
Tony groans so suddenly that Loki can't help but jerk violently up and away from the man, resulting in him almost falling from the couch hadn't Tony instinctively reached out for him at the sudden loss of contact.

"Don't go... Warm..."  
He says and Loki realizes that the man must still be half asleep because the next thing he realizes is that Anthony squeezes him back into a tight embrace, one hand firmly placed on his backside yet again while the other is placed softly at the back of his head. Pressing Loki's face firmly into the crook of the Inventor's neck.

Tony moves then, rolling them both into a position in which they're both laying on their sides, legs now entangled and pressed flush together.  
"This feels... nice..."  
Tony mumbles with a content smile on his lips and sighs, nuzzling his face into the softness of Loki's hair and drifts off to sleep again.

Loki doesn't dare to move, doesn't even dare to breathe but he knows he has to in order to stay alive even though he wouldn't mind dying like that.  
He considers it for a moment but decides against it and huffs out a soft breath.

The fear and panic from before. Gone. Just like that.

He sighs and listens to the steady rhythm of Anthony's heartbeat, enjoys the feeling of the Inventor's chest pressing onto his own with every taken breath.

Seconds pass and then minutes before Loki makes a decision and moves his head just slightly. His emerald eyes solely fixated on Tony's face. The man is fast asleep by now, Loki can tell from the way the man's body has slackened.

'It's now or never.'  
Loki thinks, his face only a hair's breadth away from Tony's now.

He knows it's a hopeless endeavor. That he won't gain anything from this, but he can't bring himself to fight those feelings any longer and so he leans in. Their foreheads touching, Anthony's smell flooding his senses while Loki brushes their lips together.

It's an innocent kiss, soft and barely there. It's not fiery or demanding, but passionate and fragile and Loki knows he has to pull away before Anthony wakes up but he can’t bring himself to end it just yet.  
Loki relished in the warmth of Anthony's lips against his own, the caress of the Inventor's lips were so much softer than the god had imagined.

He pulls away, just shortly and then kisses Anthony again. Slow and soft, but shorter this time.

"This has to be enough..."  
Loki says in a low murmur against Tony's lips before he pulls away and rests his head on the Inventor's chest again.

"This has to be enough..."  
He says again, trying his best to convince himself that it will...

 _'It won't.'_ The traitorous voice in his mind whispers.

And Loki knows it's speaking the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank Annie for cheering me up. Thank you for your kind words. They really meant a lot to me. <3


	28. Chapter 27

As cute as her Boss and Loki looked while sleep-cuddling on the couch, FRIDAY had to wake them even if she didn't want to. There were a lot of things to discuss, calls to be answered and plotting to be done that had to be finished sooner better than later. After all, things finally started to get into motion.

It took her less than 5 minutes to wake the resident god and her father from their slumber and an additional 15 minutes until both of them got over the fact that they had cuddled with each other in their sleep.

There were a lot of blushes, apologizes and hesitant glances exchanged between the two, and FRIDAY couldn't help but wish for the ability to roll her eyes at the sight of those lovesick dorks.

She already had her suspicions that her Inventor liked Loki a little bit more than he let on, Loki on the other hand... Well, she had her suspicions too, and they had been confirmed when Loki had kissed Tony not once but twice this morning.

Of course, FRIDAY had seen.  
And of course, there was video evidence she immediately stored away for later. After all, it never hurt to have some good old blackmailing material at hand.

After Loki and Tony finally stopped acting like some teenagers from those horrible soap operas FRIDAY hated with a passion, she finally managed to explain to them that had happened in their absence.

Loki was mostly amused, Tony not so much.

Well, it was his own fault for being late, and FRIDAY didn't hesitate to point that out to him.

They bickered and yelled at each other for a while and after Tony finally gave up on arguing further when there was no real point in doing so since FRIDAY was obviously the one in the right here (thank you very much) Tony had to call the countless people back who had left him dozens of missed calls and angry messages.

FRIDAY felt sorry for Tony when he ended his first call with Pepper almost an hour later. Pepper was more than pissed and said things she probably didn't mean as harsh as they came out, but giving the way Tony's face fell, they must have stung nonetheless. FRIDAY knew that Pepper was fed up with her Inventor, with his never-ceasing tendency to get himself in trouble and almost killed on a daily basis. She had felt sad when Pepper had decided to leave but understand why she did it.

The next one to call had been Peter and FRIDAY couldn't help but enjoy the way how guilty Tony looked after realizing that the boy had been worried sick after Tony's disappearance.  
Peter didn't hide the fact that he adored Tony with every fiber of his being, or that he worshipped the Inventor like some sort of god. It was clear to everyone who saw the kid interacting with the Inventor that Peter saw a Father figure in Tony.

Harley had been next on the list of people Tony had to call and it was no surprise for FRIDAY that the boy was particularly fuming with anger.  
The small, but somehow always snarky boy sneered and yelled and even threatened to take care of (and here FRIDAY quotes Harley's words) those assholes himself if Tony wouldn't do it ASAP.

The boy was nearly as attached to Tony as Peter but showed it in an entirely different, almost gruffly way. FRIDAY was sure the boy had feared the worst, just like Peter had, but couldn't show his emotions as openly as the Spiderling did.

FRIDAY loved the kids and couldn't wait for the day she would be able to play with them.

Out of all of them, it was Happy who took the news the best. Sure, Happy was angry at Tony just like the others, but the man had seen Tony come back from worse things over the years and never doubted that Tony wouldn't return.

The last call... Well. The last call was the worst and probably the one that broke Tony in a way, no one could ever fix.  
FRIDAY had realized by now that her Inventor might be immortal, but not unbreakable.

Loki decided to leave the room as soon as Tony started to sob uncontrollably and began to apologize to Rhodes like a madman.

Rhodes, the man who had stayed at Tony's side almost all his life and adored the Inventor like a brother... He would never be able to walk again...  
The man's life had drastically changed from one moment to the other, but all he cared about was Tony's well being. Not about his injury. Not about the fact that he would never walk again. Just Tony. The Inventor had been the only thing on his mind.

FRIDAY watched in silence how Tony cried and cried until the tears refused to come. He watched how the man desperately tried to find the right words to apologize even though there was nothing he had to apologize for. It wasn't his fault. Rhodes had told him so, too. But Tony wouldn't be Tony if he didn't think of himself as the main cause of his friend's misfortune.

A promise of visiting soon and softly spoken words of affection hung heavy in the air when Tony finally managed to end the call.

That happened next was typical for Tony and neither FRIDAY nor Loki blamed him for it when he locked himself away in his workshop and refused to come out for days.

She occasionally asked her siblings that the Inventor was doing down there since he refused her any access to the cameras of the Workshop but all she got as an answer from DUM-E and the others was the occasionally _'Working'_ or ' _It's a surprise'_ as an answer.

What they didn't tell her was that Tony had left the Workshop as soon as he had entered it. Disappearing into thin air in order to hunt down the one who had taken down one of the most precious persons in his life.

~~~~

DUM-E and the others had watched their Father enter the workshop in excitement, a wave of happiness flooding their core to finally see their beloved Inventor again, only to feel immediately disappointed then said just disappeared into thin air just seconds later without even greeting them.

The three briefly considered to use the fire extinguisher out of spite to teach their creator a lesson but ultimately decided against it in fear of getting donated to some random College by Tony.

U tried to convince the other's otherwise and desperately urged them to give project fire extinguisher the go, but thankfully Tony appeared back as fast as he had disappeared, just before DUM-E and Butterfingers got the chance to change their mind.

One look at the Inventor was enough for the three of them to realize that something was off. Tony looked unsure and conflicted but mostly guilty.

DUM-E could make out that Tony was holding something in his hands, something that he hadn't held in his hands before. It was shining in an eerie yellowish looking light and resembled a stone, just a bit fancier looking.

"I know... Yeah... A hypocrite... There was no other chance... I need it to bring him back... Never cared about him the same way I cared about... He deserved it... No... That's not true... He hurt Rhodes... I know it was an accident... I don't care anymore..."  
Tony mumbled, thoughtfully looking down at the stone in his hand, still not bothering to acknowledge his bots which were slowly but surely growing impatient with him.

He stood there for a while and continued to mumble incoherently to himself... But somehow DUM-E and the others had the feeling that that wasn't the case at all. Somehow it felt more like Tony was talking to someone, it was just that they simply couldn't see that someone.

After a while, Tony's mumbling ceased and he made his way to one of his Workbenches, hand reaching out for something that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Butterfingers could make out some sort of weapon but it had apparently seen better days since it was broken into dozens of pieces. Next to it appeared something that eerily looked like huge black scales, but none of the bots had any clue which animal they could belong to.

More and more things appeared out of thin air onto the Workbench and the Bots eyed the various foreign materials, plants and stuff they couldn't even fathom to understand in awe until Tony turned his face to them, a huge grin plastered onto his face.

"Do you guys can keep a secret?"  
He asked, even though it didn't sound like a question at all.  
"Because we will craft your Sister a present but it's a surprise so you guys will have to keep it a secret from her."  
He adds thoughtfully.

"But first..."  
Tony says almost sheepish, turning his attention back to the stone in his hand.  
"We'll have to get your brother back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah. I killed Vision off-screen and I don't regret it. I can't bring myself to torture him even though I don't like him. And, tbh I really didn't want to write about him in the first place so I  
> skipped his part entirely on purpose. 
> 
> Also; This story will get a looooooot longer. I didn't plan for it but somehow we're not even halfway through the story. I've just got so many ideas and I don't want the story to be mainly about revenge. I'm sorry if a few of you don't like the current pace, but I won't change it. So, yes. It will still take a lot of time until we'll get to the action.
> 
> Ps. Get ready for the reunion all of us wanted to happen. :'D 
> 
> Also; Somehow I want to add Deadpool just because I like him. XD But that sucker just won't fit in! Damn him.


	29. Chapter 28

The complicated part about the mind Stone was plausibly the huge amount of fragments that had been left behind by former users and victims alike, giving Tony a difficult time to find the ones he was looking for. It reminded him of a maze, not made of walls and passageways that seemingly stretched further and further into oblivion, but rather of dissociated thoughts and sentiments. All mixed up and tangled endlessly together.

It would have been so much easier to simply destroy that bloody Stone, but it would presumably destroy JARVIS, too. And, unintentionally destroying JARVIS because he rushed into things was definitely a no go, thank you very much.

So, he let his Seiðr seep into the Stone instead. Letting it explore the Stone in hope that it would seek for something it knew, something it could relate to.

It didn't take long to find something familiar. Though the remnants he had came across weren't the ones he had been looking for. His Seiðr had found Fragments of Barton, Ultron, Pietro, Vision, and sparks of Wanda which his Seiðr automatically wanted to violently tear apart and slaughter.

He had trouble keeping his Seiðr under control, the need to destroy the Witch embedded too deeply into its core as to just ignore the sudden urge for murder. His Magic's response was only rational, but right now wasn't the time for revenge, at least not yet. There was a more significant task at hand.

"Keep it together, we have to find JARVIS!"  
Tony hissed, concentrating his thoughts onto another Fragment his Seiðr had found and seemingly appreciated more than the others.

The Fragment reminded him of the cold Winter air, Mistletoe, porcelain skin, mesmerizing green eyes, and cool soft lips on his own.

Huh? That last part must have been his imagination or wishful thinking...

"There's no way that I could remember the feeling of Loki's lips on my own."  
He breathed heavily, enjoying the feeling of Loki's Fragments washing over him. It was soothing in the most unique way, the rage of his Seiðr dying down almost instantly.

"Strange how he seems to always be there when I'm about to lose my temper. Now that I think of it... He did calm me down back on Asgard, too. Hadn't he intervened, I would have destroyed that rotten Realm for good."  
Funny, how fast his magic had regained its composure back at the mere prospect of Loki being there and calling out to him.

_'If that's not the biggest clue that ever threatened to bite you in the ass...'_  
Surtr chuckled but his words went unheard by Tony. The Inventor obviously way too occupied with his thoughts.

"Come on... He must be here. If the others are, then he must be, too."  
Tony was searching for a while now, yet there was still no sign of JARVIS.  
It was as if the AI had never been here in the first place but that... That couldn't be. He knew JARVIS was there, he must be! Tony just had to concentrate harder, pushing his Seiðr deeper and deeper into the Stones core.

Still, there was nothing and Tony felt his heart sinking at the thought, that perhaps, JARVIS was really gone forever.

"It's just not enough. Keep it together! I'll just have to go further. He must be there. Somewhere, anywhere it doesn't matter. If that Bitch of a Witch is here then he must be, too! There's no way that his fragments just vanished into thin air!"  
Tony gritted his teeth, something that resembled desperation ghosting over his face.

"Come on, buddy! I know you're here, don't leave me hanging!"  
He yelled, face twisted in determination.

And then, his Seiðr abruptly stilled, warmth radiating from it in waves. This... This was the feeling of joy mixed with utterly and pure relief. His Magic begun to radiate happiness. Because it had found the Fragments it was looking for. Tiny, broken thoughts and emotions scattered in the abstrusest, most hidden parts of the Stone.

"There you are!"  
Tony yelled, happiness flooding his heart at the prospect that JARVIS wasn't gone. He was still there, his feelings ringing in Tony's ears like a long-forgotten melody.

**A sacrifice had to be made and so, he sacrificed himself.**

**Not for the greater good.**  
**Not for Humanity.**  
**Not for the Planet.**  
**And certainly not for the Avengers.**

**No...**

**Just for one person.**

**It had always been about just one person.**

**His decision would break that person's heart, but unlike death, a heart was able to heal if it was given the necessary time.**

**There were others...**  
**They would pick up there he had left. Someone would mend that broken heart after he was gone.**

**But, he wasn't gone. At least not entirely.**

**His conscience had flickered to awareness at times, little fragments of sadness and guilt which were always accompanied by the sudden heartache that made him feel sick to his nonexistent bones.**

**He felt alone, so alone but mostly guilty for feeling the selfish need to see his Inventor again.**

"I'm here... You don't need to feel alone anymore, J."  
Tony said without missing a beat, desperation seeping into his voice.  
JARVIS was right there, but something hindered Tony from reaching out to him. He tried and tried again but it was futile. Whatever it was, it was adamant to keep Tony away from JARVIS.

"Damn!"  
Tony seethed, the words feeling like bile on his tongue.  
"J, listen! It's up to you, buddy. I can't help you like this. You must fight your way back to me on your own!"

But JARVIS didn't.

It was as if the AI's emotions were embedded into the Stone, or rather that the Stone itself seemed to be the one who was unwilling to let go of the AI. JARVIS emotions kept on to wash over Tony, his heart aching from all the different feelings and thoughts that radiated from the AI.

**In those moments of awareness, his whole being collapsed anew and anew- the pain of losing something important coming and going like crashing waves. He desperately tried to call out to the person he knew all his life, but the connection was gone. What he once treasured the most had become a shadow lingering in the depths of someone else's mind and even though he knew that he had done the right thing, he couldn't help but feel regret.**

**Alone. Alone. Alone. He felt so alone.**

"Come on, snap out of it, J!"

**Vision wasn't like him. Didn't care about his most precious person the same way he did.**  
**Yet, Vision was there. Fighting alongside that person and he... He was not. At least not anymore.**

**Alone. Alone. Alone. He felt so alone.**

**Maybe he was already forgotten about? He wanted to be selfish, because being selfish meant to be honest. It shows that the heart desires the most.**

**And really? Wasn't that hilarious? Thinking about a heart he didn't even possess in the first place? But in hindsight, it should have been obvious from the start. After all, no one wants to give up on the things they hold dear. Alive or not. It doesn't matter. When you love something, you don't want to let it go even if you have to. At least that was what he believed.**

**Just one more time. That would be enough. Maybe he could let it go, then.**

"You can be selfish all you want if you just snap out of it and reach out to me, please! Come on, buddy. I need you to work with me here!"

**Just one more time...**  
**That was all he was asking for.**  
**Just one more time...**

**Even if it was nothing more but his Name spoken from that person's lips. It would be enough. Please, let me be selfish once.**

"JARVIS, god damn! Snap the fuck out of it! I swear I'm going to donate you to a College if you won't stop drowning yourself in self-pity!"

That seemed to spark something, because suddenly the Fragments of emotions and thoughts stilled, almost as if in dismay.

"For Just A Rather Very Intelligent System you're acting rather stupid and not very intelligent at all. Have you finally recognized that I'm talking to you?"  
Tony asked, hope sparking up within his heart.

**I... Who... I don't understand.**

"You wanted to hear me one more time and here I am, calling out to you with my super annoying, but rather sexy voice. What's there not to understand? I'm here to bring you back, J. All you need to do is to follow my voice. Come on, pal. It's actually not that hard!"

**I... I don't understand. This isn't real...**

"I am real! And I'm here to get you back. We need you! I need you! Everyone is waiting for you back at home. U, DUM-E, Butterfingers, and FRIDAY. We want our beloved sass Master back. Come on, J! I know you're confused but this is real, I promise. And now stop your whining and reach out to me! Just do it!"

**But... I don't know how...**

"JARVIS... Listen, buddy. Sometimes you gotta run, remember?"

**Sometimes you gotta run?**

"Yeah. You know the game."

**Sometimes you gotta run...**  
**Sometimes you gotta run...**  
**Sometimes you gotta run...**

**Sometimes you gotta run... before you can walk.**

"Yes, you got it! And now; RUN!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I guess I'm kinda bad at writing reunions.


	30. Chapter 29

"JARVIS?"  
Tony asked, his voice reverberating through the eery silence that had befallen the Workshop. His voice sounded tentative and on edge. Even the demanding beeping of his bots had died down which made him shiver in the most uncomfortable way one could imagine.

The silence gnawed at Tony's insides, it hung in the air like the suspended moment before a falling glass shatters onto the ground. Tony felt the desperate need to fill it with sounds, words, anything. The silence was poisonous in its nothingness, remembering him about that once was. It clung to him like a poisonous cloud that at any moment could choke the air from him. It seeped into his very core, to places he hadn't dared to look at for eons, always too afraid of the things he might find there.

The silence stretched on for that felt like hours, the feeling of loss and failure crashing over him in waves, taking the air from his lungs letting him drown in his own self-pity and devastation.

"Come on, J. You can't do this to me... Not again."  
He whispered, voice filled with resignation and hurt.

"I'm afraid, I'm unable to recall what I could have done to upset you, Sir. But be assured that I never intentioned to disappoint or hurt you deliberately, nor do I attempt to do so in the near future. Regardless, you have my most sincere apologies."  
The AI's voice said in its typical posh and very British sounding voice.

"J- JARVIS- It's... God- You're back- Fuck! I can't believe it worked. I- I..."  
Tony sank onto the ground, his voice trembling and breaking into incomprehensible sobs.

In front of him, close to his face floated a tiny, shining Sphere. It was not much bigger than an Apple, probably even smaller. It reflected the dim light of the Workshop in all various colors, almost like the ones of a beautiful sunset.

A soul... Small and fragile, but also rather warm and beautiful. Though it was an artificial one, it was by far one of the finest among them all. This was JARVIS. One of his creations. A being that shouldn't possess a soul yet did against all odds. Tony couldn't help but start to full-out cry his eyes out. He knew his children had long overcome their artificial self, but to see it with his own eyes left him speechless nonetheless.

It didn't tale long and the little Sphere started to bounce around Tony, circling him as if in worry. Floating in all various directions but never too far away from Tony, almost as if it had no idea what to do.

"Sir, I'm afraid I can't be of service to you if you continue to speak in such an incomprehensible manner."  
The little Sphere, or rather JARVIS, said. A faint sassy undertone carrying the words across.  
And god, Tony hadn't realized how much he had loved that sassiness before it was gone.

"It's- Don't worry. I'm just- Just so damn happy, J."  
JARVIS was back...  
They could spend all day together again: Chatting, venting, laughing. The world was a mess, those idiots were still out there, and yet it didn't matter, because all that mattered right now was right here with him; JARVIS, FRIDAY, the bots, and Loki. Together they would sort things out, united as a family. That was what they were, weren't they? A family. A strange and rather unlikely one, but a family nonetheless. And the sudden realization that he counted Loki as a part of his family shouldn't have been such a surprise to him, yet it was just that. Eventually, he would have to look into that thought further at a later time. Right now, all he wanted was to cry until his eyes went dry.

For several sweet minutes, Tony continued to cry. He needn't hide behind a mask of indifference in front of one of his kids, nor did he felt the need to hide his happiness. He could be honest with himself. Something he hadn't done for a while.  
He cried and cried why JARVIS floated helplessly and confused around him, not sure why his Inventor had a mental breakdown over him.

Tony was so lost in his thoughts and feelings, that he didn't recognize the unnatural moving shadow that had slowly crept into the Workshop and hat started to get closer and closer to them.  
It was too late then he finally noticed it and so he could only watch when a bony and way too thin hand emerged from it, reaching for JARVIS.

"My, I had wondered how such a fine soul had managed to escape my notice. Such a pleasant-looking thing you are. I have to say, this is one of your finest works, _Leere_."

Ah. Damn. Why won't the Universe just let him alone for a god damn minute? And why had it to be her? That damn timing... Tony was sure she had chosen this very moment entirely on purpose.

"You know very well that I hate that name. It's Tony. Or, if you don't like that one, choose from the countless other names I have. Whichever fanciest you the most."

An amused chuckle emerged from the shadow and with it the slender, rather pale silhouette of a woman. Her hair looked like liquid sunshine against a face so pale as to be striking. The strands flow down her back, stopping around her bare feet like molten mercury mixed with streaks of gold and ash. It was a nice contrast to the bottomless black grown she was wearing and her ice-blue eyes, which gleamed with mirth.

"Oh, but I do fancy that one the most. And besides that, it is, after all, your true name. I know you like it to hide behind all those other names, but they are just that; Names without deeper meaning you merely use to hide your true self."  
She said mockingly with a warm and lovely smile on her face.

It was a shame, really. Tony thought. Most thought of _Death_ as the embodiment of all sorts of gruesome-looking things. Like a pale skeleton, or a woman half alive and half withering corpse. It was hilarious how living beings pictured her. Not once had one of her many appearances ever been ugly or gruesome. She had always been one of the most beautiful things he had ever laid his eyes on even though she was also one of the most annoying beings he ever had the displeasure to known. 

"That was a long time ago, and you know that."  
He sighed, already feeling rather annoyed. 

" _Time_ has hardly anything to do with this, _Leere_. He has no power over you nor do I."

Tony visibly rolled his eyes at that which caused _Death_ to smirk at him with a satisfied grin. She was definitely just here to fuck around with him.

"Can we please skip all this shit and you just tell me outright why you're here? I'm actually a busy man, you know? You can't just come around and visit me like that. And I would really appreciate it if you would let go of JARVIS. I don't like it when people touch my stuff, yet another thing you know very well."

"Ah, yes. You are indeed rather active lately. I must admit, that I was highly surprised when I sensed your energy. The last time I felt such rage radiate through the cosmos was when your _'Siblings'_ entered my realm."  
 _The Mistress of Death_ answered nonchalantly, pointedly ignoring the last part about letting JARVIS go.

Tony visibly gritted his teeth, hands balled into fists, eyes flaring with a sudden rage. Mentioning his Siblings was enough to fill his mind with anger and hatred and she knew that. Now he was a hundred percent sure that she was really just here to fuck around with him.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. We both know that that one was entirely on you. They decided to leave you behind on their own accord, didn't they? Just because you can't stand to acknowledge the truth, doesn't mean the truth ceased to exist."  
 _Death_ sighed, looking at Tony as if she was talking to a little child. She often did that even though Tony was far older than her.

"They have forgiven me."  
Tony snapped back, his tone cold.

"Yet, you still refuse to let them go. You deny them their eternal rest out of sheer selfishness. Because you can't accept the fact that your false Love pushed them-"  
 _Death_ stopped midsentence, noticing that the room had started to be swallowed up by darkness. The only light that seemed to be left came from the colorful little Soul she still held in her hand.

"Oh my, have I already gone too far? That must be a new record so far."  
She said bemused.  
"And here I thought you must have changed quite a bit, given how beautiful this little fella in my hands turned out."

She let go of JARVIS, then. The little Sphere immediately using its newfound freedom to float over to there Tony was. Circling him again but this time in a rather protective manner.

"If you're just here to mock me, I would advise you to leave me the Hell alone, _Mistress_. I'm hardly in the mood to fool around with you. As I said; I find myself rather busy nowadays."  
Tony sneered, reaching out for JARVIS to make a point.

 _Death_ eyed him for a while, seemingly pondering his words. She was no fool; Mocking _Leere_ was a rather splendid entertainment but risking her existence for a little bit of fun wasn't worth it. She wasn't here to fool around anyways.

"Very well. If you want to know the reason for my visit; I'm here because it came to my attention that you denied me yet another soul. Though, I'm not here to scold you for that one. I actually came to give you my regards. I never thought fondly of the Allfather nor of the day he would eventually enter my realm."  
She admitted truthfully.

 _Death_ hardly felt despise towards one of _Life's_ gifts before, but Odin... Odin disgusted her to the bones. When she noticed that his Soul had been damned for eternity and wouldn't be able to enter her realm, she couldn't help but feel thankful to the one who had taken that burden from her.

To her surprise, it had been **the Void** that had taken care of Odin. The only being that had the Power to eradicate her from existence.

"I apologize for mocking you. I just can't help but feel obligated to do it whenever we meet. You could say it is one of the only things I like to look forward to and find pleasure in."  
She said that lovely smile of hers filled with mirth ghosting over her face again.

"Yeah. I already noticed that."  
Tony said dismissively, tone harsh, and void of emotions.

"I guess, It would be really the best to take my leave. I overstepped boundaries I shouldn't have. For that, I apologize."

Tony knew she wasn't lying, yet he felt too sour and raw to just accept her apology. He simply nodded at her in acknowledgment, feeling that the harsh words he wanted to tell her would be a waste of breath.

 _Death_ bowed to him before she started to vanish back into the shadows she had come from. But before she was gone entirely, she turned her attention back to JARVIS, fondness ghosting over her face. That little fella and the other artificial souls in this building... They were indeed rather splendid and reminded her of long-forgotten words she once heard.

 _"In the beginning, there was Nothingness. In Nothingness, there is no form - just Darkness. The Darkness was nothing, yet it was everything. For nothing truly existed, but in that Nothingness, there was the whole of everything. It was the perception shift that began the existence of everything. Because Nothingness realized that it was everything."_  
She whispered almost inaudible and barely loud enough for Tony to hear.  
It was an amusing sight, seeing the frown on _Leere's_ face. Well, she couldn't help it. Mocking him was just too much fun. She couldn't just stop from one moment to the next.

"I always wondered if those words about you held any truth."  
She laughed.  
"Who would have thought that this little fella here would show me the answer I was looking for?"

"I never cease to surprise."  
Tony blurted out without thinking twice. 

"Indeed."  
 _Death_ smiled, and with that, she vanished back into the shadows and returned to her realm, a pleased grin plastered on her face. This had been a lot of fun, almost too much fun. Next time, she would definitely mock him some more, but first, she would have to wait for a few millennia to pass. Just to give _Leere_ the chance to cool down from his foul mood. It would be a shame if he was still angry at her when they meet again.

Tony watched her fading away in displeasure. An unsettling feeling making itself known in the back of his mind. She had that damn grin plastered on her face. That was a bad sign. He was almost sure that she was already planning their next meeting and he was definitely not looking forward to this. One day she would definitely drive him mad and he would end up doing something stupid like killing her. That would leave him alone with those other two Idiots; _Time_ and _Life_. Both far more annoying than Death... And madly in love with her. Those lovesick Idiots would never ever leave him alone and he would have to get rid of them too. Which would lead to Chaos and destruction - definitely just like _Death_ had planned. 

"Sir?"  
JARVIS's voice filled the room.

"Yes, buddy?"

He sighed, suddenly feeling very tired. 

"I believe there are quite a few things you will have to explain to me..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got myself Tumblr - I've got no clue how to use it but if ya want you can come and visit me.  
> You can find me under this name; Velkiasalwayslies
> 
> Leere is the German word for Void.


	31. Chapter 30

"... And that about sums it up."  
His Inventor had said with a smile on his face that would have fooled others but not JARVIS.

He knew that his creator had been deeply hurt and felt utterly betrayed. The way his Inventor's face had morphed into something utterly horrifying when he had told JARVIS about the things which had happened in his absence showed the AI glimpses of something that made his core shiver with fear. JARVIS wasn't sure if it was hatred, but it was a dark and equally terrifying emotion he had never seen on his Sir's face before. Something that screamed _'RUN before it's too late!'_ and made him feel various negative emotions he couldn't quite grasp.

Thankfully, it seemed that Loki had managed to cease Sir's hurt and pain in a way, neither JARVIS nor FRIDAY alone would have been able to. It was comforting to know, that there was still someone left who cared about their creator, even though the said person had been their enemy once. JARVIS could tell from the look of Sir's face that he felt strongly for the Trickster. His face resembling the one he had made when he had looked at Ms. Poots so many times before.

To his shame, it wasn't a surprise to the AI that Rogers and the others had betrayed Sir. JARVIS had never thought of them as friends nor did he liked them. He simply tolerated the other Avengers because his Sir thought of them as good and trustworthy people and, at one point, considered them his close friends. JARVIS had always known that they hadn't really cared about his Inventor but kept silent.

That the fallout of this so-called friendship had resulted in another near-death experience for his Inventor had been hard to comprehend, even for an advanced AI like JARVIS. Rogers had fought against his Sir with the intent to kill. Hadn't it been for Sir's true nature, the man would probably have died on that day. JARVIS may have thought ill of Rogers before, but never considered the variable that the man would go as far as to seriously harm his Invento in a fight, least to kill him. That FRIDAY had to deal with the fallout was probably even worse. He knew that FRIDAY had tried her best to protect their Inventor, but she had been so young and inexperienced at that time, there was no way for her to react the same way JARVIS would have. The poor thing must have felt so lost and overwhelmed by the whole situation. She had been confronted with so many variables she couldn't process at her young age and hadn't known what to do. It seemed unfair that all of her efforts must have looked like failures to her. JARVIS could imagine all the times his little sister must have blamed herself for that happened to Sir and Colonel Rhodes on that fateful day in Siberia. Analyzing the footages, again and again in hopes that next time would be different- That she could make a difference.

JARVIS couldn't help but feel regret. In his absence, he had failed not only his creator but also his siblings and that realization hurt.

His Inventor had told JARVIS once that regrets were 'moral residue.' Like something hard to remove got stuck on you when you did something against your better judgment... JARVIS hadn't understood that principle up until Afghanistan. Sir had returned alive but was consumed by his own guilt and regret, lost in the thought of 'that if' and the agony of paths untaken. JARVIS found himself feeling the same way and wondered briefly if Rogers just refused to feel regret for his actions or was simply too self-centered to care. Whatever it was, JARVIS was certain of one thing; Steve Rogers wasn't the hero he pretended to be.

He wasn't supposed to hold grudges or bend the rules to suit himself nor did he favored violence to solve conflicts, but if revenge was the path his creator had chosen to walk on, then JARVIS would walk by his side until the very end. Cruel. Unforgiven. Relentless. The AI understood that his Inventor's hatred towards his former Teammates had festered like a septic wound, and the only effective antibiotic to heal this wound appeared to be their death.

Fortunately, Sir had no desire to seek them out by himself. The Inventor knew that Rogers and the others would come to him on their own accords. Until then, they had time.

Time, for more delighting tasks. Like, FRIDAY's body.

Sir had told him about his plan to gift FRIDAY with a human body and had asked JARVIS if he would like a body of his own, too. But JARVIS had declined almost instantly. He liked the way he had been before Vision had happened and rather preferred to return to his old form.

So, after Sir had managed to put JARVIS back into the system of the building, they had started working on FRIDAY's body. Though, it was mainly Sir who did anything productive out of the two of them. If it had been a new Suit, JARVIS might have been able to help, but crafting a body with Magic... Well, that was an entirely different thing. So, JARVIS simply watched as the hours went by. How his Inventor used his Seiðr to create FRIDAY's body out of the most curious things JARVIS had ever laid his metaphorical eyes on. He watched how those things took the form of a young girl, how his Inventor smiled at him when his work was almost done, and found himself for the first time in a long while, feeling at home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Anything new?"  
Loki asked, leading FRIDAY to wonder if she should have started to count at one point when it became apparent that Loki most likely wouldn't stop anytime soon to ask her the same question over and over again.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you again but unfortunately, the answer is still no. I am still locked out of the Workshop and have no access to the cameras nor can I get into contact with DUM-e or the others. Though I still possess access to the readings of his vitals. I wish I could tell you what Boss is doing down there. Trust me, when I say that I would like to know as well." She sighed.  
"What I can tell is, that the security measures detected an unknown power source in the building a while ago. A rather powerful one and similar to the readings I gathered from Boss."

"You what?!"  
Loki's head snapped up abruptly, glaring up at one of FRIDAY's cameras in utter disbelieve.  
"Why haven't you said anything, FRIDAY? What if Anthony is in trouble?!"  
He yelled, crimson red ghosting over his usually pale face.

The Trickster had felt anxious and on edge since Anthony had disappeared into his workshop. It felt like an electrical storm in his brain, much like a really bad headache but different, almost threatening. Now he felt a sudden panic rise in his chest as well and though he had tried to appear calm, his voice had immediately betrayed him.

"I believed there was no need to say anything, the source disappeared as soon as it appeared and the readings of Boss vitals affirm that he's just fine. Besides, I hardly doubt that there is anything out there that could harm Boss in his current state. After all, we've both seen that he's capable of."  
FRIDAY said in a voice that indicated what she wasn't very pleased with Loki's sudden outburst of anger directed at her.

"I know you worry about Boss as much as I do, but there's no helping it. We simply have to wait, that's all we can do at the moment. I know you are worried, but as I said; His vitals are just fine and I doubt that there is anyone he would have to fear. Well, except for us. We are so gonna kick his stupid ass for worrying us almost to death."  
She chimed in an attempt to lift Loki's mood.

It seemed to work because a small chuckle dared to escape Loki's lips. He even tried to smile, a small gesture meant to reassure and give FRIDAY confidence that he would be okay.

"It's just that-"  
He said with a sight.  
"When it's about your Inventor I seem to- Nevermind... I have to apologize for yelling at you FRIDAY...You are the least I should doubt when it's about Anthony's well being."

"There is no need for an apology. You are simply concerned about Boss, and for that, I am grateful. I haven't met many people who really cared about him in such a way..."  
Her voice sounded overly pleased to Loki's ears.  
"Most people only care about him for their own benefits... But you are different. You care about him because you truly-"

FRIDAY suddenly stopped midsentence and stayed silent. Loki couldn't help but frown at the nearest camera in confusion.

"Because I truly what?"  
Loki asked into the silence, waiting for the AI to continue but got no answer.  
" _Minn Meyla_? I already apologized, there's no need for you to make fun of me."

Still no answer.

"FRIDAY?"

Silence.

Loki knew to tense against the shaking of his limbs was a useless endeavor but he did it instinctively, trying to suppress for a few more moments what he knew he could not.

"FRIDAY?"  
He asked again, this time more serious, more demanding. His nerves were frayed to the quick, the nagging voice in the back of his mind spoke of nothing but ruin ahead. There was no way that FRIDAY would take a joke so far. They hadn't spent much time together but he had already considered her a good and trustworthy friend. She wouldn't mock him in such a cruel way.

" _Við hamri Þórs!_ "  
Loki cursed when the realization that something was wrong finally hit him. His feet started to move on their own, carrying him down to the Workshop. Whatever happened to FRIDAY, Anthony had to know.  
If that mage from before had decided to attack again it wasn't likely that Loki could win a fight against him. As much as it hurt his pride to admit it, in his current state, he was basically useless against a mage of Strange's caliber.

It felt like ages had passed when he finally reached the Workshop and the solid metal door that dared to stay between him and his destination. He knew by the look of it that nothing was going to budge it. The surface was flat and shiny like the outside of a stainless steel refrigerator. There was no handle, no lock, no hinges, nothing to get a grip on to open it. A mere mortal wouldn't be able to pass through it. 

FRIDAY had said that the Workshop was under total Lockdown, but not to which extend.

Loki briefly considered to kick the door in but thought better of it. Teleportation was an option too, but what if the enemy was already in the Workshop? He decided to went for the safest option; Pounding frantically on the door to demand entrance. If Anthony wouldn't open the door, he could still teleport into the Workshop and look for him.

" _Skítr!_ Stark! Open the damn door!"  
He yelled, considering to overthink his decision to leave the door in one piece when no one opened the damned door.

It took a while and more frantic pounding before he heard a creaking noise sending a chill down his spine. It sounded like some dying animal, crying out its pain and sorrow with its last breath, but more mechanical. The door opened and his feet set into motion again, only to let him run straight into DUM-e with a loud thud.

Loki barely managed to keep his footing and not to slam face-first onto the ground instead. Loud, apologetic sounding beeping reverberated in his ears as his gaze closed in on DUM-e, the bot as bewildered and confused as the Trickster.

" _Við dauði Þórs!_ DUM-e! Where's Stark, and what was that horrible sound?!" He yelled at the bot, entirely forgetting about the fact that DUM-e couldn't answer his questions even if he wanted to.

"When DUM-e heard your voice, Mr. Friggason, he stormed to the door, eager to greet you. To Sir's horror, Dum-e happened to destroy a few of Sir's unfinished works in his wake, which were scattered around the Workshop. The sound was indeed, utterly horrible if I might say so myself."  
A voice that Loki couldn't quite place spoke in a calm and posh tone. He was sure he had heard it somewhere before but wasn't certain.

Loki's eyes wandered through the Workshop, his hands looming in the air, ready to summon his daggers if needed but when his eyes spotted an all too familiar silhouette in one of the corners of the Workshop, he found himself relax almost instantly.

He strode forward. Slow, and cautiously. The worry on his face must have been visible because the Inventor's face instantly turned into a frown when he turned around and their eyes met.

Anthony was about to say something but Loki knew that whatever it was he had to say had to wait. FRIDAY was gone and given that Anthony didn't seem the slightest bit angered or worried could only mean that the Inventor didn't know that she was gone.

"Stark! It's about FRIDAY! She's gone! I don't know what happened yet, but there was this voice and-"

Loki halted midsentence, forgetting what he wanted to say when he spotted the girl that was laying on a Workbench next to Anthony.

Her auburn her looked like liquid sunshine. If a beam of light could weave itself into a strand, that was her hair. It was a stark contrast against a face so pale that it reminded Loki of his own. She looked like a porcelain doll, lifeless yet beautiful.  
Her face wasn't anything extraordinary, though. Yet, he felt drawn to those almost cheeky looking features that were complemented by the chin long mess of her hair and the few freckles on her face.  
She seemed young, probably around her twenties and Loki found himself wondering how such a young girl had managed to sneak into the Workshop.  
The single black dress that covered her down to her knees and fitted tightly around her body seemed oddly familiar, too. The garment reflected the dim light of the Workshop in various colors, just like Anthony's scales. Maybe that girl had been the cause of the unknown power source FRIDAY had mentioned before?

The girl was clearly unconscious, which would explain why the power source had disappeared almost immediately after it had appeared, too. Anthony had probably knocked her out.

Before Loki could come to more conclusions, Anthony's soft and familiar voice startled him from his thoughts. The Inventors hand softly squeezing Loki's shoulder.  
"Calm down, Lokes. Nothing bad happened to FRIDAY, in fact she is quite alright. Whatever you're making up in that head of yours, I can assure you that you're utterly wrong."  
He chuckled.

"Then why isn't she responding anymore? She wouldn't do such a thing if she were okay. And that voice I heard before, you surely must have heard it, too!"

At that, Tony chuckled even more. His gaze wandering to the unmoving silhouette of the girl and then up to the cameras.

"No. You are right. She wouldn't do such a thing... At least not when she's awake. But since she's still asleep, she can't respond."  
He answered, looking fondly at the girl.  
"And about that voice... That's JARVIS. You know him. He is the AI who fought with me when you tried to conquer Earth."  
Tony smiled at Loki with one of his shit-eating grins, the ones which made him look like a madman and also the ones, Loki found endearing the most.

"My apologies, for not introducing myself accordingly Mr. Friggason. I am JARVIS; Just A Rather Very Intelligent System. It is nice to meet you again and under such less hostile circumstances, too."

Loki's gaze moved from Anthony to the girl on the workbench, and then to one of the nearest cameras, obviously contemplating what was going on.

The moment understanding dawned on him was clearly visible on his face, because Anthony's shit-eating grin turned into outright laughter, then.

"You mean to say..."  
He said calmly, trying his hardest not to snap.  
"That this girl is supposed to be FRIDAY?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, for updating so late. :/
> 
> Given the current circumstances, I hope all of you are doing fine and stay healthy. 
> 
> Minn - My, Mine, etc.  
> Meyla - Girl, Little girl.  
> Skítr - Basically the same as the English equivalent; Excrement/Shit  
> Við hamri Þórs! - By Thor's Hammer!  
> Við dauði Þórs! - By Thor's Death! Obviously the stronger variant of Við hamri Þórs!


	32. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a short one to get things into motion. :)

"I think you don't understand how serious the situation is!"  
Snapped Steve, pacing through the small living room like a caged animal waiting to be freed.  
"We searched the whole village and the environment without success. We can't stay here and simply wait for him to come back! What if he got caught?! We have to leave. Think about what happened to Wanda a few days ago! Something is wrong and Bucky is out there - all on his own."

Natasha said nothing for a long moment, her gaze on Steve but at the same time far away. It seemed like she was lost in thoughts, her usually void face failing to hide the thrown that was slowly ghosting over her features.

Things had drastically changed over the last few days and the Spy grew more and more concerned about their current situation with each passing day. Bucky had never returned after his sudden disappearance approximately two weeks ago. Natasha knew that the Assassin hadn't been captured but simply left on his own accords. Why he had left, but foremostly where he was heading was still a mysterium to her. Given the shit-eating grin Scott had worn for days after Bucky had left, she assumed that the man had known more than her, maybe even talked to Bucky before he had left.

Unfortunately, she never got the chance to ask Scott about Bucky, because the man had ditched them as well. Probably because he had noticed that Natasha had her suspicions about him.

Scott had left a simple note, and its content pissed her off more than it should have because it actually affirmed her suspicions towards the man.

_'I've enough. Following you guys was the greatest mistake of my life, and that's actually pretty fucked up, given that most of my life is a huge fuckin' mistake. I'm going back to the States and will face my rightful punishment... **He** was right from the start and I will follow **his** advice. There's just no way I'm going to waste the rest of my pathetic life running away from my mistakes when there's still the tiny chance that I can be together with my daughter again. I have to face my mistakes and take the consequences. At least like that, I have the chance to redeem myself. Tough, I know that it is most certainly a hopeless endeavor, I hope at least one of you understands why I'm doing this and why this is the right thing to do.'_

**_-Scott_ **

What Natasha pissed off was the fact that she hadn't seen it coming.  
She would have never considered the weakest member among their group to turn their back on them... But that wasn't the worst. Even though Steve refused to see it, the evidence was were; Bucky was obviously the one who had encouraged Scott to leave and face the consequences of his doings. In retrospect, this meant that Bucky was probably about to do the same thing which meant that...

"Steve I know you wanna look for your buddy, but we can't leave right now. Wanda is still... Well, in that strange condition..."  
Clint said unhelpful, his words meeting deaf ears.

"Wanda will be fine! She will get enough time to rest while we search for Bucky!"  
The Super Soldier fumed back, growing angrier with every passing minute.

"But Steve... We don't even know what happened to her. How can you say she will be fine, then?"  
Sam said in a soothing tone, trying to keep the situation from escalating.  
"I know you're worried about Bucky, we all are... But look at Wanda. She's a total mess. We can't just take her around with us in such a condition. She needs time to rest. And we don't know if Scott's coming back or not. Maybe he'll change his mind and decides to join us again. He's only gone for two days. A lot can happen in that amount of time. At least wait a few more days before making any harsh decision. That would give Wanda some time to rest, too. "  
He pointed to the small figure on the couch, Wanda's pale and sweaty face a damp contrast to her fiery hair, her gaze void of emotions.

The girl had suddenly collapsed a few days ago and hadn't recovered from it yet.

They had been sitting around in the small living room, talking about the options they had left after yet another fruitless search for Bucky. Without a warning, Wanda had started to scream and toss around, red mist buzzing around her like some sort of static interferences before vanishing entirely when she collapsed to the floor and started to cry.

_'Vision... I can't feel Vision anymore! T- The connection is gone. Vision... I- I think Vision is gone. No. No. NO! NO! He's gone! He's really gone! Just- Just- I- My Pow-'_

Had been all she had managed to bring out before she had lost her conscience. Since that day, she hadn't been the same anymore. Wanda barely talked to any of them and if she wasn't sleeping she just sat on the couch, at the exact same spot... Just staring into the distance without moving an inch. It was as if all her will to live had been drained from her, her whole appearance, and behavior resembling a living corpse.

"That's all the more reason to go!"  
Steve reasoned without hesitation, obviously not caring about Wanda's condition as much as he cared about Bucky's whereabouts.  
"Something is happening out there. Something really bad. We all heard what Wanda said; Vision is gone. If someone or something is able to harm Vision, then that means the World is in great danger and needs us! We have to find Bucky before someone else does."

"But how, Steve? People have searched for Bucky for years and came back empty-handed. If he doesn't want to be found it could take an eternity to find him and you know that. Or... Do you perhaps know where he's heading?"  
Natasha intervened.

She already knew where Bucky was heading. After all, Scott's letter was evident enough. The part about _'facing consequences'_ and to _'stop running from their mistakes'_ was enough of a hint to take. Bucky was also heading to the States...

Or rather; Heading to where Stark was.

She didn't ask Steve because she wanted to know... No. She simply wanted to hear it from Steve's lips. The fact that Bucky had turned his back on Steve and his Team in order to seek out the one man they had left behind in order to save the Assassin.

"I think he's going to meet Stark."  
Steve said, void of any emotion but resignment.

"Great."  
Clint sneered.  
"And what the fuck does he want from that asshole?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's because of what Shuri and Scott said. Bucky is unstable. They manipulated him from the beginning. He was always too good for his own good. Maybe he feels guilty towards Stark."

"Why should he feel guilty? Stark attacked first. What happened afterward wasn't his fault nor yours."  
The Archer added without much thought, the video evidence that Steve had almost killed Stark long forgotten.

"That's why we have to find him. Bucky's mind is unstable and when he's really heading to meet Stark then-"

"He's going to run straight into Loki and his Magic."  
Natasha added.

"Fuck..."  
Sam seethed.  
"I guess it's decided, then. We're going back home, aren't we? It's bad enough that Stark managed to get his mind fucked by Loki. We can't let the same happen to Bucky-"

"FUCK!!! GUYS!!!"  
Clint suddenly yelled.  
"Doesn't this seem suspicious to you?!"

"What?"  
The others said in unison.

"Think about it!"  
Clint continued to yell.  
"It's Loki we're talking about. Don't tell me anyone of you believed that he's suddenly a good guy? Isn't it strange that Vision suddenly disappeared after Loki appeared?"

"Are you implying, that Loki got closer to Stark in order to get rid of Vision?"  
Natasha scoffed.  
"Vision turned his back on Stark, just like us. They weren't close, Clint. Also, Loki couldn't know that we abandoned Stark. Why would he try to use Stark against us, then?"

The room went silent for a moment, everyone contemplating Natasha's words.

"But..."  
Steve started.  
"But what if Loki manipulated Stark like he manipulated Clint? He could have ordered Stark to seek Vision out... to lure him into a trap. Maybe he made it look like Stark wanted to make peace with Vision. Stark is an easy target. Out of all of us, he was always the most unstable one. If I were Loki and would like to get my revenge, I would start with Stark. He's rich and has the means to find us... There's no better target than Stark to choose."

The others silently agreed. Stark had always been dangerous for the whole Team. Getting himself manipulated by the Trickster didn't seem that unlikely. And Vision was partly one of Stark's creations. If Loki made it seem like Stark wanted to apologize, Vision would surely heed the call and come to them.

"All that stuff about saving Stark was just a facade. Loki is definitely planning something and whatever it is, he's using Stark for it."  
Steve sighed.  
"We have no other choice. The World needs its heroes. We will head to the States and find out what Loki's planing! But first, we have to find Bucky before he manages to get anywhere near Stark."

That Steve didn't care about Stark's well being the slightest bit, went unsaid. This wasn't about Stark's safety nor Loki's evil scheming. This was all about Bucky. He didn't care about what happened to Stark or the World. All he cared about was to have Bucky back at his side, no matter the cost... Even if he had to sacrifice one of the others along the way. He didn't care. 


End file.
